GLOUCESTER — The Saugus girls soccer team came out swinging Tuesday afternoon on the road against Northeastern Conference foe Gloucester, but the Sachems simply couldn’t find the back of the net in a 1-0 loss to the Fishermen at Newell Stadium.
“We possessed the ball for most of the game, but our shot selection just wasn’t good,” said Saugus coach Chris Coviello. “We got a couple shots on goal, but we didn’t really test (Gloucester’s) goalkeeper. It was just one of those games where we couldn’t get anything going.”
For Saugus, Madison Goyetche, Juliana Powers, Maddie Femino, Veronica Ortega and Sara Rovcanin all played well in the loss.
“We had a number of freshmen play well tonight, which is always a great sign for the future,” said Coviello.
Saugus dominated possession from the very start of the game, controlling the pace in the offensive zone for much of the first quarter. But despite a number of scoring opportunities, the Sachems couldn’t find a way to get the ball past Gloucester goalkeeper Aleena Dort. But on the other end, it only took one opportunity for Gloucester to take advantage.
Following a slight breakdown in the midfield area, Gloucester’s Darcy Muller was able to take control of the ball just behind the defense and fire a shot into the back of the net to give the Fishermen a 1-0 lead with 4:38 left to play.
“Things just broke down and we didn’t pressure the ball well enough,” Coviello said of the play that led to the goal. “We really didn’t make too many mistakes out there tonight on the defensive end, but you have to credit Gloucester with being able to take advantage of the opportunity we gave them.”
Saugus continued to get chances throughout the game, but nothing came to fruition. Veronica Ortega got a breakaway opportunity that was turned away by Dort midway through the second quarter. Jess Carter had a direct kick that Dort stepped in front of in the third quarter, and the Sachems came close on yet another opportunity in the fourth. Each time, Saugus came up empty.
“We just have to chalk it up to a rough night and move on,” said Coviello. “We played some really good defense tonight and our ball possession was great, now we just have to find a way to put the ball in the net.”
Saugus (1-1) is set to travel to Peabody for a game Friday afternoon (4).