Lady Sachems soccer team posts two more shutout wins

  The Saugus High School girls’ soccer team rolled to its eighth win with a 5-0 road shutout of Gloucester on Tuesday. Coming off a stretch where they played six consecutive home games and went 4-1-1 during that span, the Sachems scored four times in the first half on Tuesday and never looked back.

  Shawn Sewell collected her seventh goal of the season to open the scoring. Then, at the midway point of the first half, Madison Botta tallied off an assist from Kaitlyn Pugh. Saugus increased its lead to 3-0 when Veronica Ortega and Allison Justice combined to feed Madi Femino for a score. The Sachems added one more goal before the intermission when Femino returned the favor and assisted on a score by Justice.

  The Sachems were able to hold the lead and keep Gloucester off the scoreboard through the second half. With under five minutes remaining in the game, Sewell sifted a pass to Femino, who netted the lone second-half goal.

  Goalie Tori Carter and the defense – led by Layla Manderson, Lexi Rais, Natalie Justice and Violet Hawley – helped produce the team’s fifth shutout win of the season. The Sachems have allowed just six goals in their nine wins (less than a goal per game average).

  Saugus, which romped over Gloucester by a 7-2 count earlier in the season, travel to play Malden Catholic on Friday. The Sachems returned home on Wednesday and blanked the Salem Witches 4-0.

  Sewell scored her eighth and ninth goals of the season to give Saugus an early 2-0 lead. Botta and Femino added the two other goals for the final margin. Contributing assists were Allison Justice, Ortega and Rais. Hawley and Natalie Justice had strong outings, and Danica Schena made a huge defensive play late to help preserve the shutout. The Sachems stood at 9-2-1 after Wednesday’s win.

  Last Thursday, the Sachems concluded their long homestand by edging Ipswich, 4-3, at Christie Serino Jr. Stadium. The contest was a high-scoring affair through the first half, as each team tallied three times. Saugus surrendered a 3-1 lead but broke the 3-3 deadlock early in the second half when Botta drilled one into an open net. From there, the Sachems were able to tighten up defensively and come away with the victory. In the opening 40 minutes, Femino scored Saugus’s first goal, followed by a tally by Taylor Deleidi and a score by Sewell to put the Sachems in front 3-1. Ipswich fought back to even the contest before Saugus eventually notched the game winner in the second period.