By Jordan J. Michael

BERNE –– Speed is a good thing to have in the game of soccer.

Head Coach Coriellen Travis told The Enterprise on Monday that her Berne-Knox-Westerlo girls’ soccer team is one of the fastest in the Western Athletic Conference.

Schoharie came to town on Monday and the Bulldogs held on for a 4-to-3 win behind two goals each from Marian Bates and Victoria McCormick.

“Schoharie is one of our toughest competitors because they have the speed to match,” said Travis after the game. “Not many teams are as fast as us.”

Megan Bassler was aggressive in net for BKW and worked for all 24 of her saves. The defensive line of Samantha Harvey, Tuesday Bishop, Kristin Depeaux, and Abby Swint helped out when they could.

“I had to pay close attention because Schoharie was getting some real good chances,” Bassler said. “I’m really glad that the defense was looking out for me. All of us have been playing together for a long time.”

The Lady Bulldogs got on the board early when Bates stole the ball from a charging Abi Piechnik and passed it to McCormick who slammed it home. Bates used her speed early and got many shots on goal.

With 9:26 remaining in the first half, Victoria Perciballi passed the ball to Bates and she fired a shot to the top right corner to give BKW a 2-to-0 lead.

“It’s our job to play the ball well and get those first touches,” said Bates. “Schoharie gave us a tough time today, but we worked through it to get the win.”

Bassler closed out the first half with some impressive saves that kept the Indians scoreless. Bassler is sharing goalkeeping time with Liz Harvey this year.

“Bassler’s becoming an aggressive goalie and her and Harvey are working together a lot,” Travis said. “I was going to put Harvey in, but I was comfortable with Bassler in there. She stepped up and played well against a good team.”

Ten minutes into the second half, Schoharie scored its first goal on a shot by Ericka Stark. Mattia Cornell contolled the ball in the box and was credited with the assist.

The Bulldogs extended its lead to 3 to 1 when McCormick handled a wide cross, turned, and struck a low shot that hit the right corner for the goal. This was followed by another Bates goal and Perciballi had another assist.

It was 4 to 1 with 16 minutes left.

“The Indians are a tough team to beat for sure,” said McCormick. “We had to follow our shots to get goals. We did nothing but play our game.”

Schoharie seemed to be doomed, but the team still had enough fight to make things interesting down the stretch.

Cornell made a move at close range and scored an impressive goal from Bassler’s right to cut the BKW lead in half. Cornell could have added another goal with about eight minutes left, but she missed an open net.

“I wish they didn’t have so many chances because it was making me nervous,” Travis said.

The ball skipped past Bassler with 5:59 remaining to put the Indians within one goal, 4-3. Bishop made a good defensive play in the final minutes and Bassler secured a few more saves to give the Bulldogs the win.

“I feel like my team is getting into the swing of things,” said Travis. “As long as we continue to win balls, we’ll win games.”

BKW is 5-1 after a loss to Middleburgh on Friday. Schoharie and Middleburgh are the teams to beat, according to Travis. “We’ve proved ourselves in these last two games,” she said.