BERNE — These Bulldogs have bite.

The Berne-Knox-Westerlo junior varsity girls’ soccer team blew away the competition this season. The Lady Bulldogs finished the fall campaign with a 17-0 record in games and also won both scrimmages.
"We had two scrimmages and we won those," said BKW Coach Bill Dergosits. "Officially, we’re 17-0, but the girls are counting it as 19-0."

A whole group of high-school newcomers were a huge part of the success.
"We had a great group of freshmen come in," Dergosits said. "And the sophomores stepped up and led them. I could look down my bench; anyone could have been a starter on teams I’ve had in the past. Those girls were just as committed."

"Well-rounded"

The Bulldogs were explosive on offense, scoring 53 goals this season. Their defense was just as good as they gave up just nine tallies this fall. The Bulldogs also won 12 games by shutout, including both scrimmages.
"I coached swimming at Mohonasen for seven years," Dergosits said, "and I’ve been here for three years, coaching track and soccer. And none of them were as well-rounded and as motivated as these girls."

Dergosits had so much depth to play with, he split his goaltenders during the season.

Sophomore Megan Bassler and seventh-grader Liz Harvey split time in goal and both were equally as good.

Each pitched six shutouts in goal this season.
"I alternated them every other game," Dergosits said. "The defense really helped them a lot. They would get bored back there at times. The defense allowed hardly any shots on goal."

Marion Bates and Victoria Perchiballi were two of the top scorers for the Lady Bulldogs this fall.
"She got just about every single assist for Marion," Dergosits said of Perchiballi. "They made a dynamic duo. They made my job real easy. They work hard and they are ready to go at all times."

The Bulldogs had some tough competition this season, but had a strength that helped them stay unbeaten.
"There were only two games we were down at halftime," Dergosits said. "We were well conditioned and in the second half pulled away. Mayfield gave us a close run."

On top of the unbeaten season, Dergosits thinks that his players will be ready to play varsity in the future.
"They have to try out as individuals every year," Dergosits said, "but any one of them can be varsity players or even a starter next year. The dedication and the effort are there. This is a strong group of girls. I see pretty good things down the road for the girls’ soccer program."

One of the things that really helped the junior-varsity team is that the players are together a lot of the time.
"They play together a lot," Dergosits said. "They play a lot of sports. And I think a lot of them are playing basketball and a lot will do track or play softball in the spring. Also in the spring, they play on the Helderberg Soccer Club. They are working together all year long."

Girls’ soccer seems to be booming at BKW as the modified team also had a large turnout of players this fall.
"There was a lot of interest and a lot of players tried out," Dergosits said. "Hopefully, that trend continues."