Sep. 11—The final score of Friday’s Gloucester vs. Saugus field hockey game did not to Gloucester’s dominance any justice.
The Fishermen won by a wide margin, 4-0, but they were even more dominant than the final score indicates. Gloucester created scoring chance after scoring chance from the jump in Friday’s win, not allowing Saugus a single shot on goal while allowing them just one corner chance in only two trips inside the circle in front of the Gloucester goal.
“It was a good performance,” Gloucester head coach Lauren Riley Gove said. “Sure we would have liked to get a couple more and we need to be a little quicker with our decision making in the circle. But we never game them a chance to get in it and we had great ball movement all game.”
With the win, Gloucester moves to 2-0 on the season and has outscored their two opponents by a combined score of 11-0.
The Fishermen threatened for the entirety of the opening quarter, finally finding the back of the net with a highlight reel goal from Ella Costa, her first of two on the day. On a corner chance, Costa took a pass from senior captain Cammi Cooper and then faked a forehand shot only to switch to a reverse stick shot that found its way inside the left post, short side for a 1-0 Gloucester lead.
Costa factored in on three of four Gloucester goals on the day, notching two assists as well.
“She is such a talented scorer down there,” Riley Gove said. “We needed her to step up into that role this season and she’s delivered. Her first goal was nasty.”
Gloucester got back on the board in the middle of the second frame when Emma Allen put home a pass from Costa on a scrum in front of the goal to give Gloucester at 2-0 lead at the break.
Ari Scola gave Gloucester a 3-0 lead midway through the third quarter, putting home a shot through traffic in front on another pass from Costa.
Aria Caputo capped the scoring after the third quarter buzzer on a corner chance with Scola setting up the goal for a 4-0 Gloucester lead.
The Fishermen were also dominant on the defensive end of the field. Saugus finally advanced into the Gloucester circle late in the first half, only for senior captain Chiara O’Connor to sweep the ball out of harms way before a shot on goal.
O’Connor led a strong defensive effort while junior captain Caputo, Isabella Forbes and Anna Hafey all played well on the defensive side of the field.
“Our defense didn’t have a ton of action because they were so quick to the ball,” Riley Gove said. “Chiara O’Connor is all over everything back there and the ball movement in transition was great.”
Gloucester is back in action on Monday with its toughest conference test at Masconomet (4 p.m.). The Chieftains were unbeaten in the NEC a season ago and are unbeaten in the early stages of the 2021 season.