MILWAUKIE – Kat Werner’s goal off an assist by Safiyah Maurice three minutes into the match proved to be the difference Thursday night as La Salle Prep defeated visiting North Marion High School 1-0 in girls’ varsity soccer.
The win helped the Falcons to a split of their two games during the week. On Tuesday, La Salle traveled to Beaverton where it fell by a 5-1 score to Valley Catholic.
La Salle (1-3), which had struggled to mount consistent offensive attacks in its first three matches, outshot North Marion (2-2-1) by a 15-3 margin in posting its first victory of the season.
“I was glad we were able to create more scoring opportunities and had some quality goal-scoring chances,” said La Salle coach Ryan Cereghino. “These offensive opportunities helped relieve pressure from the defensive unit; we were able to string passes together by moving off the ball and improving our touch. We were much more aggressive than our preseason games and won many more 50-50 balls, both in the air and on the ground. Senior Safiyah Maurice and junior Kat Werner worked well together to help score early in the game. I am impressed by the players’ abilities to work hard at practice and implement these skills into the game.”
Natalie Byrne played all 80 minutes in goal for the Falcons in recording the shutout.
In Tuesday’s game, senior Stephanie Socotch drilled a 30-yard shot past the Valley Catholic goalkeeper for La Salle’s lone score.
La Salle has two games this week, as the Falcons travel to Estacada High Tuesday for a 6 p.m. match before hosting Cascade High Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
