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LORETTO -- For the second straight year, the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy girls soccer team is the champion of the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference. But it did not come without a battle.
Playing a team it tied during the regular season 1-1, the Lady Marauders met up again with Bedford but this time BG turned in a stellar performance in a 2-0 victory in a game played at Saint Francis University Saturday afternoon.
"I thought the key was playing with confidence,'' BG coach Joe DeLeo said. "We played (Bedford) earlier in the season and tied them, and I just felt we weren't aggressive enough and not pressuring the ball. But (Saturday), from start to finish, we pressured the ball, and that gave us more opportunities and we converted on a few of them.''
Bishop Guilfoyle, which improved to 16-0-3, took a 2-0 lead in the first half and then held fast the rest of the way for the win. Bedford dropped to 12-3-2.
Keeper CeCe Rumfola faced 14 shots on goal and stopped all 14. Bishop Guilfoyle took seven shots on goal and made two of them count. Meggie Ritchey scored first, off an assist from Emma Marasco at the 36:03 mark for a 1-0 advantage. Almost 10 minutes later, at the 26:34 mark, Marasco scored an unassisted goal for a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Marauders open up defense of their District 6 Class 1A crown on Thursday at Mansion Park, taking on Juniata High School at 6 p.m. The Lady Indians are the No. 4 seed while BG is No. 1.
"(This season) has been kind of similar to last year,'' DeLeo said. "We know we're going to face some tough competition in District 6. So we enjoyed (Saturday's win) for a short while, but now we're focused on film and practice to get ready for Thursday.''
SCORE BY HALVES
Bishop Guilfoyle 2 0 -- 2
Bedford 0 0 -- 0
First Half: BG-Ritchey (Marasco), 36:03; BG-Marasco (unassisted), 26:34
Second Half: None
Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (16-0-3), Bedford (12-3-2)
Shots on goal: Bishop Guilfoyle 7, Bedford 14