2003 PREVIEW: BOYS' SOCCER: SAUGUS TAKES THE OFFENSIVE GOALS SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM.Byline: Heather Gripp Gripp talking raven, beloved pet of half-wit Barnaby Rudge. [Br. Lit.: Dickens Barnaby Rudge] See : Birds Staff Writer SAUGUS - For the Saugus High boys' soccer team, the most encouraging part of the season-opening Burroughs tournament was not that Centurions placed fourth, but how they got there. Instead of relying strictly on its defense, Saugus was able to put pressure on opponents with a much-improved offense. The performance confirmed an end to last season's scoring drought drought, abnormally long period of insufficient rainfall. Drought cannot be defined in terms of inches of rainfall or number of days without rain, since it is determined by such variable factors as the distribution in time and area of precipitation during and before and has the Centurions feeling good about returning to their usual position as a playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. contender after winning only five games last season. ``We had a lot of close games last year,'' Saugus coach Nate Wright Nate Wright played professional American football in the NFL from 1969-1980. Professional Career Wright earned All-Pro honors at defensive back in 1974 and 1976. He career consisted mostly of time as a defensive back with the great Minnesota Vikings teams of the 1970s. said. ``It was one of those years defense was holding us in games and the offense couldn't get us over the hill. You've got to have an offense. That's the thing that's the big difference this year. Every year is different. We've got guys who are willing to work hard and go after it. ``I think we'll do well. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if we'll be contending for a title, but we should be up there.'' The Centurions finished 5-8-7 last season. They could easily match, or even surpass, that win total before Foothill League play begins Jan. 9. Saugus is 3-3-1 entering the Sylmar tournament, in which the Centurions open against Kennedy of Granada Hills on Saturday. Saugus has only six returning players, but the biggest indication that this season's team would have a different look occurred when the Centurions outscored opponents 8-2 while going undefeated en route to the semifinals of the Burroughs tournament. A semifinal loss relegated Saugus to the third-place game, but the Centurions found encouragement in that, too, as the loss was 2-1 to defending Southern Section champion St. Francis of La Canada. ``We got off to a good start at the Burroughs tournament,'' Wright said. ``That was a really good sign we can play. We have our heads up and are looking forward to a good year.'' The Centurions' defense, anchored by brothers Anthony and Kevin Montero mon·te·ro n. pl. mon·te·ros A hunter's cap with side flaps. [Spanish, hunter, from monte, mountain, from Latin m , has one shutout Not to be confused with Shootout. In team sports, in American English, a shutout (a clean sheet in soccer) refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. and three games in which it allowed only one goal. However, the ability to penetrate opposing defenses is cited as the main factor in the team's turnaround Turnaround A situation where a company that has had poor performance for an extended period of time experiences a positive reversal. Notes: A speculator may profit from a turnaround if he or she accurately anticipates the improvement of a poorly performing company. . ``We didn't have an offense,'' Wright said of last season's team. ``This year is better. We're off to a better start. We're scoring a lot better this year.'' Saugus finished the Burroughs tournament with twice as many goals as it had at the event last year. Senior Tyrone Fordham, who has five goals, is the leading scorer in his first season as a starter. Juniors Matt Wright and Carmelo Terranova Terranova a genus of nematodes in the family Anisakidae that parasitize elasmobranch fish. are close behind. ``Overall, we're just performing better on offense,'' Nate Wright said. ``I can't say we're a powerhouse A fourth-generation language from Cognos that was introduced in the late 1970s for midrange computers. It supports both character-oriented, terminal-based applications as well as Windows clients. Applications developed under PowerHouse can be imported into Cognos' Axiant client/server environment. offensively, but at least we have offense this year. It's better team play and better team unity; they're all a part of it.'' Heather Gripp, (818) 713-3607 heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com 2003 PREVIEW: BOYS' SOCCER Team: Saugus High boys' soccer Coach: Nate Wright 2002-03: 5-8-7, 3-3-4, fourth place in the Foothill League Players to watch: Tyrone Fordham, Sr.; Andrew Lepp, So.; Anthony Montero, Sr.; Kevin Montero, Jr.; Darus Nua, Jr.; Carmelo Terranova, Jr; Matt Wright, Jr. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Senior Tyrone Fordham, who has five goals, is Saugus' leading scorer in his first season as a starter. David Crane/Staff Photographer Box: 2003 PREVIEW: BOYS' SOCCER (see text) |
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