Second season begins for girls soccer squads

The curtain is rising on Act Two of the girls soccer season ? the MIAA playoffs. There are quite a few local squads represented on the tournament stage.Seventh-seeded Saugus will be led by keeper Melissa Toomey, as Saugus hosts Tewksbury Saturday at 2:30 p.m., in a Division 2 North matchup. Sachems coach Chris Coviello cannot wait for Saturday to arrive.”It is not much of a surprise my team is here. They are a good bunch of girls and a talented bunch to boot,” Coviello said.Leading the way for Saugus is the senior captain trio: Emily Quinlan, Cecilia Cresta-Devine and Kaleigh Evans. Toomey is also integral to the Sachems’ success.”If my team plays its style of soccer, they will be fine,” Coviello said.Bishop Fenwick (13-3-2) will host Salem Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Fenwick lost a major piece of its offense when Kristin Verrette suffered a season-ending injury. She had 21 goals at the time it happened.Fenwick responded to the challenge and went 5-1-1 in her absence. Fenwick coach Karen Guillemette is very happy with her team’s season this far.”We have a good team. They are very solid all around,” Guillemette said.Leading the way for Fenwick, which lost to Danvers in the North semifinals last year, is keeper Becca Graves (11 shutouts).Danvers (14-2-2) hosts Amesbury Saturday at 6:30. Danvers coach Jim Hinchion is very optimistic with his team’s chances this year.”I always expect my team to be at this point in the year. They seem to be coming together at the right time and I cannot wait for Saturday to come,” Hinchion said.The Falcons went 8-0-1 in their last nine games. Leading the way for Danvers are two senior defensemen, Kellie Macdonald and Gabby Vega. Keeper Allison Tivnan is key to the defense as well (8 shutouts). Junior Corey Persson and senior Brittany Russo will lead the offensive attack.Revere (8-8-4) visits Framingham Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in a Division 1 clash. Revere coach Natalie Lyons is excited for her team.”My team really battled to get to where they are right now. There have been a lot of injuries to key players, but my team has always responded the strongest when things looked the grimmest,” Lyons said.Leading the way for Revere is the senior captain trio: Marissa Parent, Melissa Adreani and Samara Neves.”If my team plays aggressive and can win most of the 50-50 balls, they will be in good position for success,” Lyons said.Peabody has been virtually unstoppable this season with its overpowering offense. The Tanners, the top seed in Division 1 with a 16-1-1 record, will host the winner of North Andover/Newton North on Monday (time TBA). Look for sharpshooter Haley Dowd, Emily Manoogian and Angela Ellison to give the other team fits.St. Mary’s (10-6-4) will host Ipswich Sunday at 2 p.m., in a Division 3 matchup. St. Mary’s coach Jim Foley is very happy for his team to be in this position.”My team always has its goal on being in this tournament. It’s good to be back after last year just missing it by one point. My team has played very well down the stretch, and I cannot wait for Sunday to arrive,” Foley said.The Spartans won five of their last seven games to be in the position they are currently in. Leading the way for the Spartans are Catholic Central League All-Stars Maggie Carey (11 goals), Kristin Moccia and Kirsten Ferrari. The Spartans are also counting on goalies Angela Dandreo and Bailey Bruckmann to get the job done.Winthrop (6-12-1) will travel to Greater Lowell Sunday at 2 p.m. Vikings coach Tracey Martucci is confident in her team’s chances this year.”I feel like my team has still not played up to its potential yet. I feel like we will have a good chance on Sunday to come out on top,” Martucci said.Leading the way for the Vikings will be senior and team leading scorer Haley Benson (9 goals). Sophomore Liana Ferullo has scored seven goals this season. Senior Andrea Martucci will anchor the Winthrop defense.Lynnfield (11-4-3), seeded at number four, will face off against Notre Dame Saturday at Lynnfield.