SAUGUS — The Saugus girls soccer team came out aggressive from the opening whistle and never looked back Thursday afternoon, scoring three goals in each half to earn a shutout win over Everett, 6-0, at Anna Parker Field.
“We came out and we were very aggressive early, which allowed us to possess the ball right away,” said Saugus coach Chris Coviello. “We scored those first couple goals and it really set the tone for the rest of the match. Our ball movement was fantastic today, and that’s really what led to all of our scoring opportunities.”
Senior captains Alivia Burke and Allison LeBlanc each scored two goals in the victory, while sophomores Jess Carter and Haley McLaughlin each had one goal. Senior captain Cailey MacEachern, sophomore Jeimmy Monroy Rodrigus and freshman Brianna Giardullo each had one assist.
But it wasn’t only the offense that was on fire for the Sachems Thursday. Saugus was also able to lock things down on the defensive end and keep Everett off balance all game long.
“When you possess the ball like we did today, it can really tire out the other team,” said Coviello. “Our defenders did a really good job of moving the ball around and sending great outlet passes, which kept Everett chasing us all day.”
The Sachems came out on fire in the first half, sending a number of shots on net within the first several minutes of game action. Saugus’ ball movement and communication shined, as the Sachems were able to move the ball around seamlessly for the most part. Eventually, it all paid off when Giardullo sent a perfect cross pass into the middle for a waiting Burke, who one-timed a shot right past the Everett goalkeeper to put Saugus on the board.
It took about 15 more minutes before the Sachems scored again. After making a save, the Everett goalkeeper attempted to clear the ball out of the zone. But her kick ricocheted off Monroy Rodrigus’ hip and bounced right onto the foot of McLaughlin, who fired a shot into the back of the net to take a 2-0 lead.
Just five minutes later, Burke broke free once again and sent a beautiful shot into the net to make it 3-0 Saugus, which is where the first half ended.
The second half was much of the same for Saugus. About 10 minutes into the half, the Sachems were awarded a free kick and LeBlanc, one of Saugus’ strongest kickers, was chosen to take the kick. She didn’t disappoint, as she reared back from about 35 yards out and sent a high, lofted kick that sailed just over the outstretched arms of the Everett keeper to make it 4-0.
It only took another five minutes for Saugus to strike again, this time on a goal from Carter. After one more goal on a free kick by LeBlanc to make it 6-0, the reserves came in for both sides until the final whistle.
Saugus (2-1) is hoping to take this solid win and use it to build more momentum as the season goes on.
“We did a lot of good things today, all of the things you like to see as a coach,” said Coviello. “We moved the ball well, communicated well, we moved well off the ball. We do need to clean up some things like shot selection and decision-making in the offensive zone, but those are all things we can work on in practice.”
The Sachems host Malden Monday at Anna Parker Field.
