SWAMPSCOTT — The Swampscott girls soccer team didn’t get off to the fastest start Thursday afternoon, but the Big Blue were able to put together a solid effort and pull out a 3-0 win over Northeastern Conference foe Saugus at Blocksidge Field.
“It was a good game for us against a quality Saugus team, so we’re happy to come away with the win,” said Swampscott coach Ken Leeder. “I thought we played well and really had to earn our goals today.”
The Big Blue had three different goal scorers in the victory, getting one tally each from senior captain Maddie Hudson, senior captain Grace Hudson and senior Lily Raymond.
On the Saugus side, senior captain Jordan Morris, sophomore Madi Femino and freshman goalkeeper Tori Carter all played well in the loss.
While it was Saugus that came out and pushed the pace early on in the game, Swampscott was able to withstand the charge and turn the momentum in its favor roughly 10 minutes in. At the 33-minute mark in the first half, Swampscott earned a throw-in deep in Saugus’ zone. The ball was thrown onto Raymond’s foot, and she promptly lofted a ball that snuck under the crossbar and over Carter’s outstretched hands to give the Big Blue a 1-0 lead.
“It was important to get that first goal,” Leeder said. “Saugus was carrying the play early in the game, so for us to come out and score before them was big. To be up 2-0 at halftime was huge for us based on how well Saugus played.”
The score remained there until there were less than seven minutes left in the half, with both teams getting their fair share of scoring opportunities throughout. But once again it was Swampscott that broke through, getting a goal from Maddie Hudson to give the Big Blue a 2-0 lead at the break.
Swampscott put things away early in the second half, getting a goal from Grace Hudson to effectively seal the win with a 3-0 lead.
Saugus (5-2-0) has a quick turnaround with a game against Ipswich Friday afternoon (4:30).
Swampscott (1-1-1) plays on the road at Dracut Saturday morning (11).
“We just need to keep going out there every day and play hard and continue to get better,” said Leeder. “We have a long way to go in this season, so we’re just trying to continue to build up momentum as we go.”