SWAMPSCOTT — On a cool Wednesday afternoon at Blocksidge Field, Saugus’ girls soccer team spoiled a Swampscott home game with a 2-1 victory.
In the first half, Saugus controlled the majority of possession. The Sachems showed off some stellar interplay between players, but lacked the final ball to make Swampscott pay.
“We possessed the ball. We were just lacking the final pass – that killed us,” Saugus coach Chris Coviello said. “They packed it in. I give them credit. They had five defenders [with] one girl up top [and] they knew we were coming. I just felt we were a little impatient.”
No early goal, no problem. After Swampscott goalie Lauren Labrador deflected a ball off the crossbar, it bounced right in front of Madi Femino who chested it into the net to give Saugus a 1-0 lead with 20:52 remaining in the half.
Swampscott didn’t drop its head. Right from the first whistle, freshman Greta Siefken laced a shot from well over 30 yards out to test Saugus. Well, after it hit the crossbar, fellow freshman Jane Raymond cleaned up the rebound to tie the game (1-1).
“I think that says a lot about who we are as a program and as a team. Yes, we went down a goal, but it’s about how we respond,” first-year Swampscott coach Jaymie Caponigro said. “We tell our players all the time that if they lose the ball or make a mistake on the field, it’s not what you did necessarily to cause it to happen, but how you respond.”
The teams went into halftime knotted.
In the second half, the Sachems knocked on the door, but Labrador (8 saves) kept shutting it.
“She’s [Labrador] been awesome and [I’m] so happy to have her [be] a part of the program this year,” Caponigro said. “We lost 11 seniors from last season, but she’s really stepped up in goal and has been a great leader. We’re really looking forward to seeing how she progresses throughout the year.”
It wasn’t until 20 minutes into the second half that Saugus found its second – and eventual game-winning – tally.
Shawn Sewell used her speed to get past a couple of Big Blue defenders before delivering a low-driven cross that got through to Juliana Scalisi for the strike (2-1).
“We move the ball well and we move well. We hit a little skid of not being able to put the ball in the net, but we’ll shoot our way out of it,” Coviello said. “We’ve had good chances, but their keeper made some good saves.”
After the game, Coviello praised his defenders for nullifying Swampscott’s counterattacks.
“Layla Manderson and Violet Hawley had monster games at the back,” he said. “They were a big reason why we got the win today.”
Caponigro credited Saugus for the way it played, and was proud of how her team competed.
“Saugus is a great team, so any time we can compete with them, it’s always a good game and good to watch. The fact we can hang in there and compete was awesome to see,” Caponigro said. “I told my players the beauty of this is that we get to play them again.”
Swampscott’s next game is Friday against St. Mary’s, while Saugus travels to Winthrop the same day.
