ND wins district crown

The Bulldogs defeated Sikeston 3-0 in the championship game.

SIKESTON -- Notre Dame continued its mastery of the girls' soccer Class 1 District 1, and in the process the Bulldogs maintained their dominance against Sikeston.

After three overtime victories against Sikeston, Notre Dame had an easier time in winning its third consecutive district title with a 3-0 win against the Bulldogs. Last season, Notre Dame finished fourth in the state after a second-place finish in 2003.

Notre Dame (14-9-3) will host a sectional game on Tuesday. Sikeston finished its season at 6-16-2.

Audra Wooley.

Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley said the Bulldogs' aggressive offensive approach was the reason for the lucky breaks.

"You can kind of force those things in the defense chasing," Worley said. "We kind of turned things on in terms of moving the ball around."

Five minutes later, Mehner was tripped charging toward the goal and the ball bounced right to freshman Megan Robert, who drove the ball just inside the left post.

Notre Dame kept the pressure on Wooley, who entered the tournament second in the state in saves.

"We knew if we could score early, it would take a lot of the pressure off," Worley said. "The longer the game stayed scoreless the more it would help them and keep them energized after the long match yesterday."

Late in the first half, it seemed No. 4 seeded Sikeston was about to creep back in when junior forward Ali Blurton took a pass deep in Notre Dame's zone and raced past three defenders to get a shot on goal. Blurton's shot from the left side of the field sailed past goalkeeper Laura Muir, but Blurton's shot struck the crossbar and bounced past forward Brittney Jenkins, standing all alone in front of the goal.

"Our offense has been our Achilles' heel all season," Sikeston coach Derrick Long said. "We've had a lot of those bounces all year long, but hopefully that is just part of our being young."

Said Worley: "Some days you can have all the chances, and all it takes is one opportunity for the opponent and they can get right back in it -- and that was their chance."