WALES — The incentive program supervised by Monmouth Academy girls’ soccer coach Gary Trafton is a starchy one.

Senior sweeper Taylor Spadafora’s timing and courage to soar above the pack and head the ball out of danger after an Oak Hill corner kick at the end of the first half earned her a pizza. Mikayla Cameron’s diving save in the final minute of regulation secured doughnuts, symbolic of a shutout, for the team.

Maybe there was added value, then, in sweating out a 2-0 victory Wednesday afternoon in sauna-like conditions.

“That’s why we had to keep running,” Trafton quipped.

Frankly, the Mustangs probably are tired of sprints and other intra-squad activities. Monmouth (1-0) was one of the final teams in the state to play its season opener.

“He doesn’t let up at practice even when it’s 98 degrees out,” Spadafora said. “We still go just as hard.”

Monmouth fought off its rival with a combination of explosive offense, that timely defense and conditioning, and a healthy dose of unselfishness.

Sammy Grandahl and Haley Fletcher scored for Monmouth. Another of the Mustangs’ talented forwards, Sidney Wilson, accepted a one-day assignment at fullback with Cheyenne Gray and Emily Grandahl both out of the lineup.

“I played there my freshman and sophomore years. I had experience and the team needed me there, so that’s where I went,” Wilson said. “I do like offense, but if the team needs me on defense, I’ll go.”

Wilson, Spadafora, Abby Allen and Madi Bumann were disruptive defensively, limiting Oak Hill (1-1) to 10 shots on goal.

Cameron made eight stops and saved her best for last, smothering a bid by Rylea Mae Swan as it grazed the left post to seal the shutout.

“We weren’t able to possess the ball enough to create chances,” Oak Hill coach Nicole Camire said. “When we had the ball in their end, we had a couple of chances, just not enough.”

Anna Dodge made 17 saves to lead the Raiders.

The Mustangs weren’t in midseason form with their movement and communication yet, but they took advantage of two golden opportunities to turn and fire.

Sophomore Tia Day set up Grandahl with just under six minutes remaining in the half. The senior’s soaring boot from 20 yards eluded Dodge’s reach and found the upper left corner.

Cameron made the initial stop on Oak Hill’s initial corner kick of the game, but the rebound and the traffic jam in front gave the Raiders a chance to notch the equalizer before Spadafora intervened.

“I’m not even sure what happened. I saw the ball go up and I saw another girl jump,” Spadafora said. “All I saw was her and the ball, and I didn’t want it to go in, so I just went for it.”

Closely marked by Hannah Nadeau all afternoon, Fletcher broke free long enough to collect an insurance goal 11:33 into the second half.

“The second half we didn’t come out very well, and then after about 10 or 15 minutes, passing started to come,” Trafton said. “That’s the first time I’ve seen passing like that. (We didn’t have it) all preseason.”

“It’s important for us. Our summer was average, just kind of getting used to the team,” Wilson added. “We lost a couple of good players. So just coming out with a win, especially a shutout, is exciting.”

Monmouth was the second consecutive early test for Oak Hill, which edged Lisbon 3-2 and is expected to make an upward move in the MVC standings this season.

In addition to Nadeau, Camire credited Meghan Desjardins and Julia Ahlberg with outstanding defense in front of Dodge.

“The 50-50 balls, we were just losing them. We weren’t aggressive enough to win possession and keep possession,” Camire said. “Monmouth is always very competitive, so they’re a good team to help us see our weaknesses and get us to focus in practice on what we need to work on.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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