Saugus girls soccer continue winning ways

  Since losing a 2-0 decision at home to Marblehead last week, the Saugus High School girls’ soccer team has moved on to go 2-0-1, culminating in a 2-1 decision over Swampscott on Wednesday.

  The Sachems’ last four games have been on their home turf and, overall, they have taken advantage of it.  The other results during this recent stretch were a 6-0 shutout of Revere last Friday and a 2-2 deadlock against Beverly on Monday.

  The Beverly contest proved to be a confidence booster for the Sachems, who faced a 2-0 deficit in the second half. Madison Botta scored seven minutes into period two to make it a 2-1 contest. Botta then later fed teammate Shalyn Sewell, who drilled home the game-tying shot with under six minutes remaining.

  Saugus goalie Tori Carter came up with a huge save in the final minutes to help preserve the tie. Forwards Madi Femino and Shawn Sewell just missed on scoring opportunities during the second half. Solid ball-possession play led to Allison Justice and Veronica Ortega playing a key role in Botta’s goal early in the second half.

  Head coach Chris Coviello described the performance against Beverly as a strong team effort. He cited great play both on defense and offense and how it worked out to achieve the comeback.

  Against Revere last Friday, goals by Justice, Ortega and Shawn Sewell helped the Sachems build a 4-0 lead at the half. Ortega tallied twice, including firing home a 30-yard shot before the intermission. In period two, Shalyn Sewell assisted on a score by Femino, who netted two goals over the last 40 minutes to account for the final score.

  The backline of Layla Manderson, Lexi Rais, Violet Hawley, and Natalie Justice has been a key factor in the team’s success on defense so far. Outside of a loss to Masconomet, where they surrendered six goals, the 5-2-1 Sachems have allowed just seven in their other seven outings (a goal-per-game average).

  Saugus continues its current stretch of home games when it hosts Winthrop on Friday. The team is then off until Thursday, Oct. 6 when it hosts Ipswich.