After watching one of its top contributors go down, Breeanna San Lucas gave the Saugus girls soccer team a lift Friday afternoon at West Ranch.
San Lucas danced through a gauntlet of West Ranch defenders to find an open net from 10 yards out and didn’t miss with a left-to-right grounder, with seven minutes remaining, to end the game in a 1-1 tie.
Saugus senior Kathleen Volpei was carted off the field with a knee injury near the end of the first half. Saugus coach Aly Drake didn’t have any further updates following the game.
“It was really hard to push through and try to come back,” San Lucas said. “That goal was honestly for Kathleen. Everything just started to come together toward the end and we were pushing together. That was the only way I got that goal.”
Saugus (0-0-2 Foothill League)Â could certainly empathize with West Ranch’s situation. The Cents and Valencia tied 1-1 on Tuesday, with Valencia scoring in added time in the second half.
Wildcats senior Danielle Lium put them 1-0 up early in the first half. She’s one of just a handful of seniors on West Ranch (0-1-1). Wildcats coach Jared White was obviously hoping to come away with a full three points Friday but saw considerable strides compared to the team’s 2-0 loss Tuesday to Canyon
“We have a lot of players who haven’t experienced the environment of these league games,” White said. “You can play all the preleague games you want, but the atmosphere once you get here is so different.
“These early games are really a test.”
Neither team was able to put a shot on goal following San Lucas’ goal. Saugus junior Alana Berens went down with an injury as well in the final five minutes of the game and did not return.
“We had to have girls step up and luckily we have a deep bench,” Drake said. “We’re just going to take a look and figure out how to perfect how we finish games. There are still so many of them left.”
White was able to use the game as somewhat of a measuring stick, as Saugus has already tied Valencia and Hart this season.
“We take the confidence taking the point, knowing Saugus is an early favorite to win the league title,” White said.”When you get a point from team’s like that, it’s important. It gives us something concrete to latch on to.”
West Ranch will travel to Valencia on Tuesday while Saugus will travel to play Golden Valley.
Hart 1, Valencia 0Â
Izabel Reyes scored in the 73rd minute to push Hart to 2-0 to open Foothill League play. Rachel Melvin provided the assist on the game-winning goal.
“It was a difficult game,” said Hart coach Guilherme Mitrovitch in a text message. “But overall we dominated possession more and we had better chances.
Hart hosts Canyon on Tuesday.
Canyon 4, Golden Valley 0Â
The Cowboys are out to a 2-0 start in league after beating West Ranch on Tuesday. Golden Valley dropped its second straight after losing 5-0 to Hart to open league play.
