SWAMPSCOTT — The Swampscott boys soccer team jumped out to an early lead and rode it all the way to a victory over Salem, 2-1, in a Northeastern Conference showdown at Blocksidge Field Thursday afternoon. The Big Blue may not have gotten as many scoring opportunities as they may have wanted, but they were able to cash in on the few chances they did get.
“The lack of scoring chances we’ve been getting lately is a little troubling, but it can definitely get better,” said Swampscott coach Michael Amaral. “It’s just going to take a little bit more effort and a little more intensity from us, but I think we have the personnel to get it done.”
Fernando Barranco and Valerio Tatafiore each score one goal for Swampscott in the win.
For Salem, Patrick Collins scored the lone goal. Gabriel Turcios distributed one assist.
“I thought we did some good things out there, and we’ve certainly improved from our first game of the year,” said Salem coach Michael Collins. “But this is a good team we went up against, and I think the way we played today bodes well for us going forward.”
Swampscott came out aggressively to start the first half, getting a number of scoring chances within the first several minutes of game action. Salem got some opportunities of its own, but they were all turned away by Swampscott goalkeeper Kevin Coffey.
The Big Blue finally got on the board about 15 minutes into the first half. It came following another barrage of shots at the Salem net, with Salem goalkeeper Andreas Kapoglis knocking away a number of shot attempts. But after knocking one shot away, the ball bounced right onto the foot of Barranco in front of the net. It was just a quick flick of the foot after that, and the ball found the back of the net for a 1-0 Big Blue lead.
Less than 10 minutes after the first goal Swampscott got another chance, this one on a corner kick. Tatafiore sent a high lofting ball into the box, aiming for a teammate’s foot. He didn’t find one, but the ball did bounce off a Salem defender and find its way into the net to make it 2-0 Swampscott.
The second half primarily consisted of Salem fighting to get back in the game. That intensity increased after the Witches cut the deficit to one goal less than 10 minutes into the half. Salem got a solid run at the net with just under 34 minutes left in the second half when the ball found the foot of Turcios. He then sent a perfect cross into the box, where his teammate Collins was running past his defender. The ball ended up right on Collins’ foot, and he sent a one-timer right into the back of the net to make it 2-1 Swampscott.
“Unfortunately we’re still having some communication issues on the back end, but we’ve been improving in that area,” Amaral said. “We were able to come up with some big plays back there today, which was good to see.”
But while the Swampscott defense couldn’t keep the ball away from Salem entirely, it did a good enough job to keep the Witches off the board for the remainder of the game. Behind solid play in the backfield and a number of critical saves from Coffey, the Big Blue were able to hold onto their lead until the final whistle sounded.
“Kevin is always ready to go in those situations,” said Amaral. “We really shouldn’t be giving him that many opportunities to make saves, but he always comes through when we need him.”
Now at 3-5, Swampscott hosts Beverly at Blocksidge Friday. Salem (3-4) will play on the road at Everett Friday.