Saugus’ Gabby Marquez and Swampscott’s Olivia Fillenworth race after the ball along the sideline. Photo by Bob Roche
By Mike Alongi
SWAMPSCOTT — It was a true team effort for the Swampscott field hockey team on Tuesday afternoon as the Big Blue worked for a 3-1 win over Saugus at Phillips Park.
“When we played like a team, we did some really good things,” said Swampscott coach Jamie Spano. “There were still some gaps where we didn’t play as a team, but we were able to hang on and still get some goals.”
The Sachems (3-3-1) came out fast to open the game, sending Swampscott (2-0-5) back on its heels in the opening minutes. The Sachems earned three corners in the first 10 minutes of the game, getting several solid scoring chances to no avail.
After Saugus called a timeout about midway through the first half, Swampscott was able to regroup and come out firing. Coming out of the timeout, the Big Blue earned two corners and possessed the ball for longer periods of time. They finally broke through when Sydney Faulkner battled through a large scrum in front of the net and poked it past Saugus goalie Catie Sheehan (eight saves) to give Swampscott a 1-0 lead.
“We’re definitely a slow-starting team, our second half is our strongest,” said Spano. “But I think it was after that first time out we were able to regroup and realize that we needed to get this done together.”
The goal gave Swampscott confidence and momentum, and the Big Blue began to push even harder for another goal. They got it about five minutes later on a corner.
The ball was sent in to Faulkner out of the corner, and she took a hard shot at the net from the left side. As the ball came in, Caroline Kinney stuck out her stick and redirected the ball into the back of the net to put the Big Blue up by two goals.
Saugus had an answer a few minutes later, however. After retaking control of the ball and forcing a corner, Emma Howard sent the ball in to a waiting Krissy Italiano, who fired the ball past Swampscott goalie Jillian Flanders (four saves) to cut the deficit to just one goal going into halftime.
Swampscott regained control in the second half, completely dominating the time of possession. Both teams stayed off the board until the final five minutes of the game, when Swampscott was able to seal it with one last goal from Sydney Cresta.
“It was a tough game for us, we definitely could’ve played much better,” said Saugus coach Barbara Guarente.
Saugus will try to rebound tomorrow afternoon when they face off against Malden at home. Swampscott, on the other hand, has to prepare for a tough home game against Marblehead tomorrow.
“We’re just looking forward to continuing this momentum and keep playing as a team,” said Spano. “We’re just going to come out ready to attack and ready to work as a team.”