LYNN — Classical girls soccer coach Mark Ierardi feels there aren’t any easy games in the Northeastern Conference this season. Monday afternoon’s NEC tilt between Saugus and Classical proved him right.
Needing a tie to qualify for the state tournament, the Sachems did themselves one better with a 4-0 shutout win over the Rams at Manning Field.
“We’ve been playing well lately, we really have,” Saugus coach Chris Coviello said. “We started off with Swampscott, which was a tough game for us, and then we just started to play better soccer. It was a great game out there. I thought both teams played really hard. It was a great game to watch.”
Alivia Burke scored two goals for the Sachems. Allison LeBlanc and Haley McLaughlin each scored once. Shaylin Groark, Kiley Ronan, Gabriella Moreschi and Brianna Giardullo each dished one assist. Saugus goalie Alana Aldred earned the shutout win.
“(Burke’s) our leading goal scorer this year,” Coviello said. “She’s fast, she’s playing good soccer. We’re possessing the ball well too. It’s hard for the other team when they don’t have the ball and they’re just chasing it.”
Quality scoring chances were few and far between in the first half. After 10 minutes of scoreless play, a fortunate Saugus bounce helped the Sachems grab a 1-0 lead. Burke found herself in the right place at the right time and drilled a free ball into the back of the net with 29:33 remaining in the first half. Things quieted down from there for the remainder of the period. LeBlanc’s free kick with 14:55 to play in the half rolled into Classical goalie Alexandra Show’s arms for the save and Classical trailed 1-0 at halftime.
“Saugus is the best team in our league,” Ierardi said. “It was a 1-0 game at halftime. We altered our formation in the second half to try to get a little more offense and kind of got burned by it a little bit. We were a step a slow to the ball most of the day and against a good team like Saugus you can’t have that.”
Chasing the equalizer, Classical’s offensive woes carried over into the second half. Saugus took advantage of Classical’s troubles with a two-goal spurt in a five-minute stretch, putting the game out of reach. Burke scored her second goal of the game with 21:22 remaining. LeBlanc followed suit with 17:44 to play, firing a shot into the net and bumping Saugus’ edge to 3-0.
“She’s a terrific player,” Ierardi said of LeBlanc. “We were trying to neutralize her. We weren’t getting much. That’s why we went to a 4-3-3 in the second half, to try and open things up. That kind of exploited us. They’re a good team. They pass the ball well. I thought we gave them a few too many set pieces in the second half.”
McLaughlin’s goal in the waning minutes finished the 4-0 Saugus win.
“We have a tendency to possess the ball,” Coviello said. “Other teams chase the ball. They get a little half a step slower, they’re a little more tired. We score the second (goal) and they’re not as anxious to track down balls. I thought we just got a couple more breaks (in the second half). That was it.”
Saugus (8-1-1) visits English Wednesday afternoon (3:45) at Manning. Classical’s (6-3-1) back in action next Tuesday at Revere (4).
“We’re still in a good position,” Ierardi said. “We have two games next week and we’ll get right back to work in practice.”
