Bulldogs too much for Spartans

BEDFORD – It would be no surprise if Carley Pestana left the Milford High School girls soccer team with a feeling of déjà vu.

The Bedford senior scored two goals in the second half on two similar shots to lead the Bulldogs to a 4-1 win over the Spartans Tuesday in Division II action.

On both goals, Pestana found herself with just enough space to make something happen. And after being shadowed all afternoon, the goals were just what Pestana, and Bedford, needed.

“She was getting a little bit frustrated, so we took her off, gave her five minutes, and then she saw the space she could have and found that space,” Bedford coach Michelle Winning said. “She’s a good player and that’s what good players do; they find ways to be more effective. The two opportunities she had, she put them right on goal.”

Milford’s Jonna Gath spent most of the game trailing Pestana, but in the 54^th minute, she found herself with the ball about 25 yards from the goal. A handful of Milford players were in the area, but none close enough to prevent Pestana from sending a shot on goal. Milford goalie Alex Hiley jumped and was able to get a hand on the ball, but not enough to keep it out of the net.

That goal put Bedford up 3-0, and three minutes later, Pestana scored again – from the same distance and over the head of Hiley – to make it a four-goal game.

“We know (Pestana) is a good player who could score the ball from 30 or 40 (yards),” Milford coach John Vlachos said. “I’d like to see the goalie do a little better job on that. She’s done a nice job on the season, but she’s young and this is her first year starting.”

[To see more pictures from this game, go here.]

Katherine Downer assisted on both goals and Stephanie Johnson also scored for Bedford (8-2) while Jessica Joseph had one helper. Bedford’s other goal came on an own-goal by the Spartans (6-4), while Milford’s goal was scored by Morgan Andrews late in the second half.

Bedford took a 1-0 lead in the 2^nd minute when Milford’s Brittney White deflected a crossing pass into her own goal. The Bulldogs made it 2-0 just six minutes later on Johnson’s goal.

“It’s tough to come from behind against a team like that, that doesn’t give up many goals,” Vlachos said. “That first goal that went off our player, that’s tough. We’re still a very young team. We only have four seniors who are starting.”

The Bulldogs are tied for second in Division II, having allowed just six goals all season, and they have recorded a division-leading seven shutouts, including a stretch of six in a row earlier this year.

But despite the solid defense, Winning would have liked her team to be more aggressive in the final 20 minutes of the first half.

“I thought the last 20 minutes of the half, we sat back and I wasn’t as pleased,” she said. “It’s great to go up early, but at the same time, it creates other challenges. In the second half, we played hard.”

Milford tried to turn up the pressure after Pestana’s second goal, and the frustration started to show when Andrews picked up a yellow card in the 58^th minute.

The Spartans finally broke onto the scoreboard when a direct kick – from 45 yards out – by Andrews made it over the head of Bedford goalie Aubrey Ouellet in the 72^nd minute. Andrews had a few other opportunities on long kicks, but Ouellet was able to come up with a save each time.

Both teams return to action Friday, as Milford hosts Bishop Brady and Bedford welcomes Laconia to town.