BERNE — The Berne-Knox-Westerlo girls’ soccer team kicked into high gear and sped by Canajoharie, 6-0, in a rain-soaked game in Berne on Friday.
"It was an excellent game," said first-year BKW Coach Coriellen Travis after the game. "We played a perfect game in my eyes. Today, we couldn’t have done things anymore as great as we did. We very much played as a team, no matter where we put them."

Cara Swain scored four of the six goals for the Lady Bulldogs and was the leader of a potent attack that dominated most of the game.

Swain’s first goal came with 22:52 left in the first half. She dribbled through defenders and blasted a shot into the upper part of the goal.

Katie Moller got the second goal of the game for BKW.

Moller sent the ball toward the goal from outside the penalty box and it was misplayed by Canajoharie’s goalkeeper. The ball bounced into the net and gave BKW a 2-0 lead.

The Bulldogs made the score 3-0 with 8:53 left in the first half.

Swain tallied after getting a pass from Jennifer Lounsbury.

Lounsbury scored the fourth goal of the contest for BKW. She got the rebound of her own shot.

Swain made the score 5-0 with 12:07 left in the game. Swain got to the ball off a rebound of a direct kick by Mariana Bartonicek.

The final goal came with 8:08 left in the second half. Swain picked up her fourth goal of the game.

The Bulldogs controlled the game and took 38 shots in the contest. Canajoharie took just seven and its goalie made 16 saves.

BKW goalie Sarah Hannay made four saves.

Hannay was helped out with solid defense by sweeper Stephanie Campbell and defenders Amanda Perciballi, Amanda Altieri, and Caren Shunney.
"Cara’s great," Travis said of her leading scorer. "But she gets a lot of support from the rest of the team."

"Mature team"

The Bulldogs are 7-5-2 overall and are in third place in the Southern Division of the Western Athletic Conference. They are behind Duanesburg and Middleburgh in the league.
"We’ve played so well," Travis said. "We’ve tied a couple of games. It is absolutely fun to work with a mature team that has a high skill level. They’ve been working hard to get where they are. I’m very proud of them."

The Bulldogs have players who have been on the team for a few years.
"We have lots of experience," Travis said. "We have 10 seniors, six juniors, and a sophomore. We are a very experienced team."

Swain, who is a junior, has three years of varsity experience and Bartonincek, a sophomore, has just as much time on the varsity.
"We only have a couple of new players on the varsity," Travis added. "We have a few girls on the team that have been on varsity for awhile. They work with each other; they work together well as a team."

The Bulldogs played Duanesburg on Wednesday and at Sharon Springs on Friday. BKW then hosts Heatly on Monday and travels to Middleburgh on Wednesday.
"Duanesburg’s tough," Travis said. "They have one girl and we didn’t stop her. Middleburgh, we almost won. We gave them a run for their money. We can’t wait until we see them again. We are looking forward to that game."

The Bulldogs have taken a big step so far this season and beating one of those two teams will be even bigger.
"It was rough last year," Travis said. "So far, we’ve made a step up. We’re just where we want to be."