SAUGUS — Everything was clicking for the Saugus boys soccer team as the Sachems blanked Greater Lawrence, 4-0, at Anna Parker Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Sachems dominated time of possession and played solid in all phases of the game.
“We just played really well today, in every part of the field,” said Saugus coach Larry Bolduc. “We moved the ball well, found the right guy at the right time, kept possession, made good runs. When you play like that, it’s just a matter of time before you score goals.”
Saugus got two goals from Juan Lopez in the win, while Jhonatta Rodrigues notched one goal and one assist. Ryan Pugh added one goal and Joel daSilva had one assist.
The biggest aspect of the win was the team’s ability to dominate time of possession, which was made possible by good communication.
“At this point in the season, everyone’s getting more comfortable with where they’re at on the field,” said Bolduc. “We’ve been connecting really well lately, and some guys are just playing really well together. It’s great when even if we don’t say anything, we’re finding each other in the right spots on the field.”
Saugus got rolling within the first 10 minutes of the game. The Sachems put a lot of pressure on Greater Lawrence early and had several shots that barely missed the net. Then, with about 29 minutes left in the half, Rodrigues took the ball into the box and drove to his left. He got around his defender just enough to get off a shot with his left foot, sending a rocket into the top-left corner of the net as he fell to the ground. Greater Lawrence goalkeeper Anderson Perez dove for the ball but couldn’t reach, and Saugus took a 1-0 lead.
Rodrigues wasn’t done there. A few minutes later, he started up another run with a great pass into the offensive zone. The ball landed at the feet of daSilva, who turned and sent a quick pass to a cutting Pugh, who buried the shot for an easy goal.
Then as the half was drawing to a close, Rodrigues again started things up offensively by sending a great lead pass to Lopez, who streaked into the box and scored the first of his two goals to put Saugus up 3-0 at the half.
Saugus continued to dominate ball possession for much of the second half, although Greater Lawrence was able to get a couple of scoring chances.
After Lopez netted his second goal on a shot from about 20 yards out, the Sachems coasted to an easy win.
The win put Saugus at 7-3 with six games remaining, meaning the Sachems now have a chance to clinch a tournament berth with one more win.
“We’d like to lock it up on Friday if we can, it’s a goal we’ve had all year,” Bolduc said. “We did some things differently today that we’re going to apply going forward and see if we can keep this going for the rest of the year.”
Saugus will host Cathedral at Anna Parker Field on Friday.
