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LAKE PLACID - Brenna Whitney scored three goals to lead the Lake Placid girls soccer team to a 4-0 win over Wells Tuesday in the Section VII Class D semifinals.

With the win, Lake Placid will advance to the Class D, Section VII finals at Plattsburgh High School at 5 p.m. Saturday.

"We were able to play so well today because we were extremely focused coming into it," Whitney said. "Lake Placid hasn't been since far in the sectionals, so we wanted to be serious."

Whitney had help from the Lussi sisters in the first half. Nina Lussi picked up an assist on Whitney's first goal, while Danielle Lussi picked up the assist on the second. Lake Placid jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Whitney goal just 4:31 into the game.

Lake Placid controlled the ball much of the game, rarely letting Wells get past midfield on offense. The Blue Bombers outshot Wells, 17-2. In the net, Blue Bomber goalie Elizabeth Leff needed only two saves to pick up the shutout.

The Blue Bombers put the game away 10:49 into the second half when Alex McFaddin took a direct kick from Molly Ploof and knocked it past Wells goalie Emily Michienzi. The score gave Lake Placid a 3-0 lead.

"Overall, our last three games what you've seen is a lot of players scoring," Lake Placid coach Olaf Carlson said. "You've seen them looking for their options on the team. We talked about the fact that sometimes you have to score for the team, and sometimes you have to look at those other options and give those good quick passes."

Whitney scored her final goal 18:10 into the second half when she took a pass from McFaddin in front of the net and made a sliding kick to put the ball past Michienzi.

Lake Placid had numerous chances to extend the lead throughout the game, but they sent several balls over the net and even rattled the crossbar a few times. Nina Lussi nearly gave the Blue Bombers a 3-0 lead with seconds left in the first half only to have her shot bounce off the bar.

The Blue Bombers will have their work cut out for them Saturday when they face a tough Chazy squad, which defeated Keene, 5-1, in?Tuesday's other semifinal contest.

"In my nine years of coaching, this is the second time we've been in a championship, but the first time we've been in a D championship, so we're fairly excited," Carlson said. "We've played fairly well against the D schools, so we're kind of enjoying being here."

Mike Lynch is a sports reports for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.