Donations allow youth soccer group to replace stolen goals

SAUGUS – After an outpouring of donations from local businesses, the Saugus Youth Soccer Association finally has its goals back, two weeks after they were reported stolen from the Anna Parker Playground.With donations from businesses like Prince Pizzeria, Carpenito Realty and Gibbons Electric, Youth Soccer president Kellie Nickole said an unlikely source wound up cutting a hefty check for the new nets: Consigli Construction, the company overseeing work at the Belmonte Middle School.”They gave us a check for $2,500,” said Nickole. “With the money from Gibbons Electric and Prince Pizza, it’s actually more than enough. It’s more than we expected.”The new goals, which are smaller and made for kids under 10, were delivered to the field at around 6 p.m. on Friday after Nickole said she had already purchased them with Youth Soccer money.”We would have been lost without them,” said Nickole. “It put a big dent in our bank account.”Nickole said she first realized the goals were stolen on Aug. 22 after she found the nets cut and lying on the ground.”My first thought was someone moved them,” said Nickole. “I called Chris Coviello the field maintenance guy and he told me no one moved them, and you could see that all the loops were cut.”Now that she has a surplus, Nickole said it will replenish the money she spent on the goals and go toward more equipment for the kids.”It’s very exciting,” said Nickole, as she watched the different teams warming up for practice Friday. “I didn’t expect so much out of this. The kids are so excited.”Alexis Nickole, 10, said she thinks it’s “really nice” that people pitched in to donate to Youth Soccer and couldn’t understand why someone would steal from them.”It’s a little kids’ program,” she said.April Aldred, 9, said she was happy to have the new nets.”I think it’s really nice that they all cared so much,” she said.The extra set of under-10 goals lay in pieces near the entrance to the fields and Nickole said she was worried about having to put them back together since they were in such rough shape.Titus and Tyrone Manderson, Jim Talbot and Coviello helped put the new goals together Friday, just in time for the new season.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].