BROADALBIN - After ending last season with a loss to eventual state champion Schalmont in the Section II Class B title game, the Broadalbin-Perth girls soccer team is looking for similar results this season.
The Lady Patriots opened their season on a solid note, posting a 5-0 non-league win over Amsterdam on Tuesday at Patriot Field
"It was a good start," Broadalbin-Perth coach Rob Klug said.
Article Photos
Broadalbin-Perth’s Kelsie Dingman, right, and Amsterdam’s Kaitlyn?Devine chase down a ball during Tuesday’s non-league girls soccer game at Broadalbin-Perth. (The Leader-Herald/Paul Wager)
The Lady Patriots outshot the Lady Rams by a 27-2 margin and only a 15-save effort from Amsterdam goalkeeper Cassandra Robataille kept the final deficit to five goals.
Broadalbin-Perth got two goals from Kylie Gifford and one each from Katie Herba, Carly Washburn and Michaela Hills.
Herba got things rolling for the Lady Patriots, scoring a pretty goal just 4:15 into the match.
"Katie's a very composed player," Klug said. "She creates as well as scores. That was a great goal. She showed off the skill that she has."
Broadalbin-Perth controlled the majority of the first half, outshooting Amsterdam by a 16-1 margin and holding a 3-0 edge in corner kicks.
Despite being on the attack most of the time, Robataille and the Lady Rams' defense kept the Lady Patriots off the board again until Gifford scored on a Carly Washburn assist with 13:05 left in the half.
"I tell my girls all the time, the only reason we don't lose in total blowouts is because our defense saves us and our goalie saves us all the time," Amsterdam coach Deanna Alex said. "That's the truth. The defense plays impeccable and the goalie makes wonderful saves."
Broadalbin-Perth closed out the first-half scoring when Carly Washburn scored on an assist from Cassidy Washburn with 9:54 remaining to give the Lady Patriots a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, it was more of the same, as B-P outshot Amsterdam by an 11-1 margin and finished with a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.
Hills opened the second-half scoring on an assist from Herba to make it 4-0 with 36:42 to play.
Just 3:35 later, Gifford finished the scoring on an assist from Victoria Marotta to make it 5-0 with 33:07 remaining.
"We talked about working on things that we did in the preseason, creating the chances," Klug said. "We created a lot of chances, and we finished off some of the chances. I thought it was a good overall effort from back to front."
Rachel Orapello made just two saves to post the shutout win in goal for the Lady Patriots.
Broadalbin-Perth (1-0 overall) will travel to Glens Falls on Thursday for its Foothills Council opener.
"We're taking it one game at a time," Klug said. "We're not looking beyond anyone."
Playing for the third time in five days, Amsterdam (0-3 overall) found itself on the wrong end of the score against tough opposition once again.
After losing to Peru and defending state Class D champion Chazy in the Be The Match Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Chazy, the Lady Rams faced Broadalbin-Perth, which reached the Section II Class B title game last season.
"We've had three games in a row to start the season. It's nice to see the things we have to work on and what we can focus on in practice," Alex said. "We'll be working on a lot of things, hopefully change the mistakes we made today and lead with a better foot."
Amsterdam is off until Sept. 12 when it hosts Albany in its Big 10 and home opener at Lynch Literacy Academy.