The South Albany RedHawks varsity girls soccer team was undefeated until they played against the West Albany Bulldogs on October 4.

“You’ve got to be quicker than that!” a player yelled. The game had started, and not ten minutes into the first half, senior and captain Sienna Higinbotham scored a goal while playing midfield. The crowd stood and cheered with excitement.

Later, Higinbotham assisted Junior Bethany Marteeny in the second goal for the Bulldogs. With every goal, the scorer shared a hug with at least one other teammate.

The Bulldogs suffered a penalty kick but brought the ball back up the field quickly. After the RedHawks’ goalkeeper had seemingly saved her team from another goal against them, sophomore Morgan Linde took back the ball and scored another point for the Bulldogs.

“My players had a good balance of intensity and composure,” said Coach Erik Ihde.

Sophomore Katya Davis likes to keep her head in the game. In total, she headed the ball five times during the game while defending.

Marteeny played forward for the Bulldogs with a broken hand.  Just before the second half started, senior Megan Miller helped Marteeny tie her shoe. Soon after, Miller scored the fourth goal of the game.

Senior Chloe Washburn scored last, making a 5-0 win for the Bulldogs.

“Our team played the best–offensively and defensively that we’ve played all season,” said Higinbotham. “We possessed the ball really, really well tonight. We’re gonna carry this throughout our season and hopefully into playoffs.”