Saugus edges Salem for victory

SAUGUS – It was a classic case of “anything you can do, I can do better” for the Saugus girls soccer team, which earned its first win of the season on Wednesday evening at Anna Parker, 2-1, in dramatic fashion.After a curious albeit confusing sequence allowed Salem to tie the game with four minutes remaining, the Sachems needed just one minute to answer, with Mikayla Perella bending the winning shot inside the right post.?I have to give my kids a lot of credit. They could have put their heads down and settled for a tie, but they responded,” lauded coach Chris Coviello, whose squad improved to 1-4-1.?Mikayla is such a tremendous leader and hard worker. It was only fitting that she scored the big goal for us,” said Coviello of the senior forward.The game-winner came on the heels of an interesting equalizer from Salem junior forward Deema Hijleh, who ran onto a loose ball before narrowly beating goalkeeper Caitlin Williamson on a low drive.On the play, a cast of host defenders seemed to believe an infraction had caused a stoppage in play, only to look on as the Witches knotted the score.?You can?t always hold on to one-goal leads, it?s very tough to do, as you saw tonight,” explained Coviello.Saugus played perhaps its best half of the season in the opening 40 minutes, grabbing a 1-0 lead while forcing the visitors into several missed chances.?We played so well in that opening half and were rewarded with a lead,” reflected Coviello, who mentioned the energetic play of senior Danielle Strangie, who controlled much of the play from the middle of the right side.Freshman midfielder Allie Kotowski delivered the icebreaker on the Sachems? second shot, beating senior Ariana Gaffney with a beautiful shot under the crossbar from long distance.?Allie is one of four first-year players seeing significant minutes for us and I thought they all progressed today,” lauded Coviello of the group, including Aryanna Carney, Rachel Nazzaro and Olivia Taplia-Gately.Of its 11 chances in the first frame, only three Salem shots were put on net, but a late surge would carry over into the ensuing half.Williamson, a senior, would be tested often over the final 40 minutes, making eight saves, none bigger than a leaping block at the 36:05 mark.Perhaps her most important play came on a hard charge that distracted junior forward Nicole Sadoway just enough to force a shot wide of the right post.?Caitlin has improved immensely from last season,” stated Coviello. “Even in the losses, each of those teams really had to earn their goals. I?m very proud of the way she played today and happy we could grab a win for her.”