Oct 1, 2009 3 min read

Belle Vernon extended its winning streak to seven games with a 6-0 victory over Laurel Highlands in girl’s soccer action Wednesday night. “Our defense is playing very well the past couple of games,” Belle Vernon coach Paul Sasko said. “We limit the chances at our goaltender, and if we continue to do that, we will be successful.”

In those seven wins, Belle Vernon (9-2-1, 7-0-1) has only allowed one goal, and its strong defense limited Laurel Highlands’ (4-7, 3-5) to any sustained scoring chances.

“Belle Vernon is a very disciplined team, and their passing skills are excellent,” Laurel Highlands coach Al DuBois said. “I think all of the teams in our division have had a tough time scoring against them because of those two factors. They are terrific on defense and react to the ball quickly. They usually beat the opponent to the ball.”

In the first 10 minutes, the Leopards peppered Fillies’ senior goalkeeper Laura Wilson with several shots, but Wilson was up to the challenge and made many early saves. Wilson had 15 saves of which 10 came in the first half.

“Laura is doing a wonderful job for us,” DuBois said. “She’s a very hard worker and keeps us in the games. She was a little bit down on herself tonight because she thought there were some goals that got past her that shouldn’t have. Overall, she plays her heart out for us. She commands the field by directing the defense.”

The Leopards scored first as they and got one behind Wilson off of a corner kick as senior Kylee Heck deflected the ball in to give Belle Vernon a 1-0 lead at 23:44.

Belle Vernon took command within a 4:21 stretch of the first half when they tallied three goals.

Heck (15:23), sophomore Caitlin Pasternak (12:33) and senior Michelle Miele (11:42) added to the Leopards’ lead as they went up 4-0 at halftime.

In the first half the Leopards outshot the Fillies 17-1.

“We like to possess the ball a lot. You have to have possession if you want to score,” Sasko said. “Whenever they get the opportunity to shoot, we have been telling them not to hesitate at all and to get shots on net. We have those good shots because of our passing game; it’s the most important part of the game.”

In the second half, Miele recorded her second goal at 23:16, and sophomore Julee Persichetti finished the scoring with a tally with less than 11 minutes left.

In net for the Leopards was junior Lindsey Lash who had three saves.

On Saturday, Laurel Highlands will be back in action when it travels to Connellsville.

“We need to adjust to a couple of things, but we are looking to be more competitive during the second half of the season,” DuBois said. “We are in the middle of our section right now, and we have made some big steps in our program from last year. We are still young, and the girls are working to improve, but this second half we just need to win and to finish games.

Belle Vernon hosts Southmoreland on Saturday in a critical, section matchup. The last time the teams met was on Sept. 14 when they tied, 1-1.

“We hope to play better against Southmoreland than the last time we played them,” Sasko said. “They are a well-balanced team, and we are going to have to work hard and play as a team if we want to beat them. I think having home field advantage is a big factor, and hopefully it will help us out this time.”