SAUGUS — Perhaps no local high school boys soccer team had a tougher time in the 2016 season than the Saugus Sachems.
Under first-year head coach Larry Bolduc, a former Sachem soccer player himself, Saugus saw more lows than highs last fall. It didn’t help Saugus’ cause that the team was thrown into a tough Northeastern Conference that included state tournament mainstays in Danvers, Marblehead, Revere and Swampscott.
Now playing an independent schedule, no longer a member of the NEC, Saugus can turn the page on 2016 and start 2017 with optimism.
“We’re doing really well,” Bolduc said of his team’s performance in the preseason. “When we scrimmaged Matignon last week, I was happy with the results. We lost but that was the most offense I’ve seen from the team. We shot the ball right away. I’m really happy. We’re working the ball well, keeping possession, finding the open guys and making the right decisions on the field.”
Although the Sachems didn’t win many games last season, the team made vast improvements towards the latter portion of the schedule. Blowout games became closer matches and opposing teams didn’t take Saugus lightly towards the end of the season.
“In terms of progressing, we made strides towards the end of the year,” Bolduc said. “We had better results in games. We were more cohesive towards the end of the year. Right from where we are now, I can already tell we’re a lot more cohesive.
“We were playing more team oriented,” Bolduc added. “We were finding the open man and passing the ball. Opportunities became more prevalent towards the second half of the year.”
Key returners for the Sachems this fall include senior center-back Angelo Andrade, junior midfielder Juan Lopez and junior forwards Gaspar Jean and Ryan Pugh. Andrade will serve as team captain.
Also among the players to watch for is a group of underclassmen in sophomore center-back Guillerme Vaz and freshmen midfielders Vincent Colluccio and Juan Oliviera.
Senior Andrew Witkowski will serve as the team’s goalie.
“I’m very confident in my returners,” Bolduc said. “They came in and have had great practices. They overcame some obstacles from last season and that has paid off because they’re practicing well. Angelo, especially, has emerged as a leader. The younger guys are learning the ropes and finding significant roles on the team. It’s great to see after a tough year last year.”
The focal point for Saugus throughout the preseason has been transitioning towards a formation that’ll allow the team to generate more offense. Finding the back of the net was often a struggle for the Sachems last season and Bolduc is hoping to erase that lack of offense this year.
“Our offense will be our strength,” Bolduc said. “I’m focusing on offense this year. Keeping possession of the ball will be important. Last year we were defense-oriented. This year our defense will lead to offense. Most of our returners are offensive players. We’re looking to score goals and get shots up on net all the time.”
“We didn’t have any offense at all and it was tough to deal with,” Bolduc added. “We had a lot of mental lapses last year. We played a lot of tough teams. The games we’re playing this year, as an independent team, will help us gain confidence and rebuild. Last year was tough, trying to focus everything on defense. We’re trying to build on that while making sure our offense is working at 100 percent.”
With a full season of experience in coaching the Sachems, Bolduc’s hoping to carry over the lessons he learned about leading the program in 2016 to the 2017 season.
“As a coach, I’ve improved on understanding how to motivate these players,” Bolduc said. “That first year’s always tough when you’re the new guy. The returners are all interested in my system. I’m confident in them and they’re confident in me. That’s the player-coach relationship I want to have.”
Saugus opens the season on September 9 when the Sachems host O’Bryant.
