Catrina Carl, Skye Kohler and Bree Ehmer each scored goals to lead the girls’ varsity soccer team to a 3-0 shutout against Melbourne High School’s Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday, raising its season record to 4-3.

“I thought that our team started the game off a little flat,” Coach Jenny Pazderak said. “But after halftime we started to connect our passes and work together which ended in a victory for the Lady Wildcats.

Ehmer leads the team with 20 goals on the season.

“I scored the third and final goal of the game,” she said. “After all the hard work we put into the whole game that final goal seemed to alleviate all the pressure.”

Pazderak singled out goalkeeper play as a key contributor to the victory. 

“I honestly feel that Lauren Mannix stood out and was the player of the game last night,” she said. “She had some fantastic saves in the goal and kept our team going and fighting until the end.”

Mannix had missed games with a foot injury but is now recovered and back in the goal box.

“It felt super-good to come back,” she said. “I’d been waiting a really long time so I was really eager to get back.”

Playing the position she knows well, Mannix received overall positive feedback from her coaches and teammates.

“The way she communicates and directs on the field, all players respect her,” Pazderak said. “She is so fierce and demanding in the goal. Lauren was a superstar.”

By Ava Dalessandro