PEABODY — The No. 8 Bishop Fenwick girls soccer team and No. 9 Saugus battled to a scoreless tie for over 95 minutes in the first round of the Division 3 North tournament Tuesday before the Crusaders had a chance at a game-winner on a free kick in the second overtime period.
And the play they drew up worked perfectly. Elani Gikas lined up to take the free kick just outside the Sachems’ box, but Central Catholic League MVP Isabella DelVecchio was the one to step toward the ball and deliver a goal to lift the Crusaders to a 1-0 win at Steven E. Donaldson stadium.
“We worked a little bit on stuff like that in practice,” Fenwick coach Steve Flaherty said of the play. “The players that were involved were able to work on some stuff like that. It paid off in the end. But honestly we shouldn’t have left it that close that long. Sometimes this game of soccer is just very cruel.”
Fenwick started the game with some jitters but shook them off and quickly controlled possession for a majority of the night. The Crusaders failed to capitalize on a handful of set pieces and hit the post two times before DelVecchio’s game-winner.
“I think in the first 20 minutes we were very nervous,” Flaherty said. “I guess it was because both programs are very familiar with each other, maybe that’s why. But we were very nervous. We settled down as the game went on. We got unlucky at times but give credit to Saugus, they hung in there with us. I think I aged 10 years after this.”
The Sachems battled from start to finish, but too much time on the defensive wore down on Saugus in the end.
“We got a little tired there toward the end,” Saugus coach Chris Coviello said. “When you’re defending a lot of the game you get tired. Our seniors graduating are a great group of kids.”
Both teams battled for possession in the midfield for the first 10 minutes. Eventually the Crusaders started to get some offensive pressure, but the Sachems defense held strong.
The Sachems fought off a pair of corners and more than a few threatening crossing passes to keep the game scoreless after the first half.
The second half was more of the same with Fenwick creating a bulk of the pressure. The Crusaders had chances on a free kick and pair of corners early on but missed the mark on all three.
Later in the half, Saugus had one of its best chances of the night when Shaylin Groark won a race to a loose ball in front of the Crusaders’ net. Groark ripped a point blank shot but Claudia Keith was there to make the save.
A few minutes later, Fenwick’s Alison Mitchell had a shot just miss the mark and ring off the post. That was as close as either team got to a game-winner before the end of regulation.
Mitchell had three different shots on net in the first overtime period but just missed a chance for a game-winning goal.
With just under five minutes remaining in the second overtime period, Fenwick was awarded a free kick and DelVecchio cashed in.
The Crusaders move on to the quarterfinal round, where they’ll take on No. 1 Stoneham Thursday (5). The game will be played at Galvin Middle School in Wakefield.
“I’ve watched Stoneham a bit,” Flaherty said. “We still have to play them and it’s up to us to be ready for them. We’re looking forward to it.”
