SOUTH DAYTON- The North Collins Eagles girls soccer team claimed their first league victory of the season with a 3-0 victory over the Pine Valley Panthers on Thursday night.

The first half was scoreless, but not without many opportunities, primarily for the visitors. North Collins had a golden opportunity in the ninth minute as Kyrstin Lehnortt’s shot hit the post. The Eagles were there to get a quality shot off on the rebound, but Pine Valley goalkeeper Haley Campbell came up with the save to end the threat.

“Haley kept us in the game early as she does regularly,” stated Spanbauer. “Her effort and skill alone can limit our opponents from scoring multiple goals. She does a good job at motivating the other girls in front with her, leading them to be in the right position.”

Three minutes later, Pine Valley pushed the ball down the field and received a corner kick, but North Collins defense was there to block both shots.

In the 20th minute, North Collins was able to break through the Panthers defense. However, Madisyn Herman hustled back into the play to prevent the shot from getting off. In the next minute, North Collins shot went wide by Madison Turnbull. Seconds later, North Collins was awarded a free kick outside the box, but that shot was saved again by Campbell. “According to Spanbauer, “North Collins controlled the ball for the majority of the game. They are quick and do a good job switching the field. When we had our chances, they were just as quick getting back to prevent us from getting the shot off.”

Pine Valley’s best opportunity to score came at the end of the first half as Kimberly Jumper broke through the defense, but could not get a quality shot off. “As with every game in the league, you have to compete for 80 minutes,” North Collins coach Vince Fininzio stated. “Pine Valley is much improved and did a good battling for the entire time.”

North Collins kept up the pressure in the second half as well. In the opening seconds, a shot by Turnbull hit the post. The Eagles continued to keep possession in the Panthers’ end and were rewarded with a corner kick in the 50th minute. Robin Hidy placed the ball into the box for Turnbull to head into the net for the first goal of the game.

“We possessed the ball well today and had good ball movement,” Fininzio stated. “We were finally able to finish, finding the back of the net in the second half.”

In the 55th minute, North Collins added another goal. As the Eagles claimed possession and pushed the ball down the field, German exchange student Pia Froelich found Rebecca Holmes on the opposite end of the box to put the ball away into the open net. Two minutes later, North Collins hit the crossbar.

According to Fininzio, “We kept up the pressure and continued to get many chances. It was a great team effort by all.”

The Eagles were awarded a penalty kick in the 73rd minute as a result of a Pine Valley handball in the box. Robin Hidy lined up to take the kick that bounced off the crossbar and barely landed over the line for the goal.

The highlights of the game came from Campbell, who was steady on the line, making 29 saves in the game. “She is close to the top ten in the state for saves made this year,” Spanbauer stated. “Unfortunately that means that we have been giving up a lot of opportunities, but she keeps us in every game. Hopefully she will be able to keep us in a game and pull one off. She has college potential with her talents and puts forth that type of effort day in and day out.”

Myah Gabel made two saves in net for the Eagles.

Both teams have a tough league battle against Chautauqua Lake next with Pine Valley traveling to Mayville on Saturday while North Collins hosts the Thunderbirds on Tuesday.