WALES — When the Monmouth Academy girls’ soccer team shuts out an opponent, there’s great pride in a job well done and the thrill of a hard-earned victory.

And there’s also the donuts.

The Mustangs started the season with four wins but had not blanked a foe all season. Monday, Monmouth finally got that shutout — and the donuts that come with it — in a 1-0 win over Oak Hill.

“We’ve been working for those donuts,” junior forward Kylie Kemp said.

Monmouth had to work for this shutout and the subsequent reward. The Mustangs broke a scoreless tie midway through the second half and then held off a Raiders rally over the final 20 minutes.

“We just couldn’t get it in the net,” Oak Hill coach Nicole Camire said. “We dominated the second half. I don’t know how many times a long throw or corner kick went right through. We just couldn’t get a foot on it or get a head on it.”

Both teams were unbeaten coming into Monday’s matchup. Oak Hill (3-1) was atop the Western B standings while Monmouth (5-0) tops Western C.

“We’ve talked about that we can’t get cocky,” said Kemp of her team’s unbeaten start. “We haven’t been 5-0 in awhile. So it’s been exciting.”

Monmouth had some early chances against the Raiders but Oak Hill keeper Kelsey Collins was superb, charging out of the net to block shots by Caroline Bonenfant and Melissa Brassard. She also made an excellent save on Kemp at the left post.

“We’re really impressed with our goalie,” said Camire. “She has great instincts. At the beginning, she came out and took a hard shot right at her and stayed in it.”

The Raiders’ strategy was to contain Kemp, and Oak Hill did a nice job slowing down the Monmouth attack.

“We didn’t connect very well with our passes,” Monmouth coach Gary Trafton said. “They go hard to the ball, and we had a hard time with that. They’re a good team and our girls pulled it out.”

Oak Hill’s attention to defending the Mustangs limited the offense, but the Raiders still nearly scored first with 28 minutes left. A shot was blocked by Monmouth keeper Adriane Gonzales, but it deflected off her and rolled toward an open net. Senior defender Lenny Urquhart cleared it at the last moment.

“Lenny made a save down there when it got by our goalie,” said Trafton. “That was big.”

Then with 21:53 left, the Mustangs found a way to get one past Collins. They forced her to move laterally. Bonenfant came in on the right side and connected with Kemp with a pass to the left. Collins just couldn’t get over in time.

“I was expecting her to shoot it, but she passed it,” said Kemp. “It worked really well. We’ve been working on just crossing it because we’ve been shooting it right at the goalie.”

Thanks to the Raiders’ urgency and a little bit of panic from the Mustangs, Oak Hill produced its best play of the game in the final 20 minutes. The Raiders had five corner kicks and numerous long throws from Bri Latulippe that put pressure on the Monmouth defense.

“They had some close opportunities,” said Trafton. “With their corner kicks and their long throws, they just hung around.”

 Jillian Holland had a redirection off a Gabby Green corner that hit a Monmouth defender in front. A Latulippe throw was tipped by Holland but went just wide. Then Holland at a shot at the right post that went over the net.

“They got really flustered,” said Kemp. “We could tell. We knew we had to stay really calm. We couldn’t let them get to us.”

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