SAUGUS — The Saugus boys soccer team came out aggressive to start Monday’s game and it paid off, as the Sachems earned a 3-0 shutout win over Greater Lawrence in a non-conference tilt at Anna Parker Field. Saugus scored all three goals in the first half and cycled in a number of players throughout the game.
“I thought we had some really good ball movement and it really helped us to get a rhythm going early,” said Saugus coach Josh Hickey. “We’ve been talking about the importance of ball movement for awhile now, so to see it come to fruition in a game like this is always good.”
Saugus had three different goal scorers, with Elijah Tapia-Gately, Vincent Coluccio and Juan Oliveira each finding the back of the net once.
The Sachems employed an aggressive approach early on, peppering the Greater Lawrence net with shots in the opening minutes.
“It’s really something we’ve adopted as we prepare to play against tougher teams,” Hickey said of the aggressive mindset. “We’re not going to be able to get a ton of runs at the net against the better teams, so I tell the guys to get comfortable shooting from all over the place and putting as many shots on goal as possible. If they have an opening from 20 yards and in, I want them to shoot it.”
The barrage of shots paid off pretty quickly, as Saugus scored just five minutes into the action. Oliveira took the ball in from midfield and got a running start before pounding a 25-yard shot that got just past the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper to make it a 1-0 game.
But the Sachems didn’t stop there, continuing to send shots at the net. About midway through the first half they struck again, this time off the foot of Tapia-Gately. The play started when Kyle McLaughlin sent a nifty pass inside to Tapia-Gately, who sent a shot on net. The initial shot was stopped by the Greater Lawrence keeper, but the rebound came right back to the foot of Tapia-Gately — who quickly knocked it home to make it 2-0.
Saugus rounded out the scoring in the final 10 minutes of the first half. An unsuccessful clearing attempt by Greater Lawrence led to a loose ball bouncing in the defensive zone, and Coluccio jumped all over it. He got the ball on his foot and quickly sent a rocket of a shot that snuck right under the crossbar in the top-left corner to make it 3-0 and effectively seal the win for the Sachems.
The second half saw a number of younger players get time on the field, something that Hickey recognizes is an important part of growing the team.
“It’s always important to get the younger guys time of the field when you can,” Hickey said. “Any little bit of experience helps moving forward, so we try to get as many guys in as we can.”
The Sachems (3-5) have a tough week ahead, with Northeastern Conference matchups against Danvers on Wednesday (4) and Marblehead on Friday (4).
“We just have to use this game as a momentum builder,” said Hickey. “Hopefully the way we played (Monday) will give us some confidence going forward and we’ll be able to play well later in the week.”
