By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence got stranded in the fast lane without fuel.
Silver Creek, with main senior weapon Jordan Lewis scoring four times, ran around, and away from, the tired Stars as the Dragons rolled to a 7-0 victory in the season opener on Saturday.
The Dragons (1-0) scored three times in the first 10 minutes and cruised as BNL could not generate much offensive thrust without the necessary energy and firepower.
“Our fitness wasn’t there,” BNL coach Bret Roberts said. “We were exhausted. The effort was there, we didn’t give up and kept trying, because we almost scored at the end. We kept pushing. But our endurance was not there. I took players out that I’ve never taken out of a game before.”
Lewis broke through in the first four minutes with her first goal, then quickly added a second with a shot from the top of the penalty box. Brianna Akers banged home a loose ball during a scrum in front of the net following a corner kick, and Lydia Wright gave Silver Creek a 4-0 advantage at the half with a strong run down the left side.
Lewis countered twice in the second half. She cracked home a rebound for the hat trick, then took a perfect crossing pass from Wright to finish her stellar opening performance.
“She’s a great weapon, very aggressive and very knowledgeable on the field with great vision,” Silver Creek coach Brett O’Loughlin said. “We played what we practiced, which is move the ball, swing it and when all else fails, we put it on her.
“I wanted to get up as fast as I could. I didn’t want to keep them around.”
Wright added her second goal midway through the second half as she dribbled in from the right wing and found the back corner.
“One of their strong suits was being very strong with the give-and-go passing around us,” Roberts said. “We didn’t find the angle to cut that off, we were chasing the ball instead of defending.
“We had a couple of good chances to score, but not much. We’re still looking for someone to stand out.”
The Stars (0-1) will visit Bloomington North on Monday.
