SAUGUS — In what was a shootout of a soccer game, St. Mary’s was just a bit better on the offensive end to secure a 5-3 victory over Saugus at Saugus Middle High School Wednesday.
Although the Spartans fell behind early in the first half, 1-0, they stormed back behind some tremendous offensive pressure and effort that carried them for the rest of the game.
“We played really well; we had a good weekend down the Cape, and it was good to get out here on turf and work on the stuff that we have been doing. We have had a pretty decent preseason — we worked hard all offseason, and it is paying dividends,” said St. Mary’s Head Coach Jim Foley.
Brooke Moloney was a standout for the Spartans notching two goals, both in which she put some extra pressure on Saugus’ goaltender, which is something Foley says he stresses to his team.
“In the past, we have stopped, and the ball is on the ground, so we really worked on keeping on going until the goalie has control of the ball — it is a live play, so it is a 50/50 ball,” said Foley.
“We pride ourselves on going after the ball wherever it is because last year we had moments where we watched the play and did not crash the net — we worked on that all offseason,” he added.
Sophie Skabeikis also came up huge for the Spartans, notching two goals of her own, and Riley Maguire also scored a goal. Remarkably, the youth of St. Mary’s showed itself as all three of the goal scorers are sophomores.
Although, in a loss, the Sachems also showed what they were made of offensively. They started strong, forcing the issue with the Spartans, and had some excellent runs throughout the game. Veronica Ortega was able to get two by the Spartans’ goaltender, while Shalyn Sewell scored one of her own.
For Saugus Head Coach Chris Coviello, Wednesday’s scrimmage was a great way to look at some junior varsity players playing against varsity competition.
“I got to watch some of my JV kids, and a few of my varsity kids play against other varsity kids — I mean, that is what I get out of a scrimmage,” said Coviello.
While it was not a regular season game, Coviello mentioned that his team needs to be more aggressive going forward.
“I think we have to be more aggressive. I think St. Mary’s was certainly the more aggressive team, and it is a scrimmage, so it is not like game conditions where you substitute — I substituted freely,” said Coviello.
With the regular season quickly approaching, Foley says the Spartans still have things to clean up even in a win.
“In terms of making sure our communication feels a little bit better — we are a little young, so we have moments where I think people do not communicate as well but just some more communication amongst the girls, especially in the middle of the field,” said Foley.
“Things like that — communicating on defense and just talking to each other and making sure everybody knows where the people are on the field,” he said.
Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
