WALES — So far this season, only one team has been able to score on the St. Dom’s girls’ soccer team.

The Saints have allowed just one goal in seven games.

There haven’t been many teams that have been able to stop the St. Dom’s offense, either. The Saints have scored 20 goals during an unbeaten start.

That was no different Monday.

St. Dom’s came out strong and scored early against Oak Hill. The Saints controlled play the rest of the game in a 3-0 win.

“We set the tempo from the start,” St. Dom’s coach Kathy Little said. “We were going to the ball hard and set the pressure from the get-g0.”

Marley Byrne, Kirsten Conner and Emma Byrne all had goals as the Saints outshot the Raiders 18-2.

“We just came out flat,” Oak Hill coach Nicole Camire said. “We were not mentally focused for the game. We didn’t mark up, and we didn’t do much well.”

The Raiders (4-3) were ranked third in Western B but have lost three of their last four. Oak Hill had some moments were it moved the ball well and put some pressure on, but the Raiders couldn’t do it on a consistent basis against the Saints.

“It was hard to get a whole lot of shots,” said Camire. “As soon as we got something going, the defense was able to step up and clear it out.”

St. Dom’s (6-0-1) was ranked second in Western C and expected the Raiders to be sound in the back and in goal. Also, judging by their scores, Oak Hill had a balanced offense.

“They have had seven different goal scorers looking at their games,” said Little. “So we played straight up and played our game.”

When the St. Dom’s defense did face any pressure, it did a good job fending off any threat and transitioning the ball the other way. For most of the game, the Saints were able to possess the ball effectively and keep the Raiders chasing. St. Dom’s outshot Oak Hill 11-1 in the first half and made a strong statement.

“We’ve been working a lot on connecting our passes and settling the ball down and just playing our game,” said Marley Byrne.

The Saints got the first goal just 9:12 into the game. It came off a Kelley McLellan corner kick. Oak Hill keeper Kelsey Collins knocked it away but Emily Caron intercepted the clear attempt and set up Byrne for the shot.

“It was definitely a great way to start,” said Byrne. “We got our intensity up right away. It was a great pass back from Emily Caron, and it was a lucky shot that got us a goal.”

The Saints had numerous scoring chances on shots by Kayla McLellan, Marley Byrne, Emma Byrne and Faith Grady.

Then with 12:55 left, Grady hit the crossbar with a shot. It deflected down  in front where Conner steered it into the net.

Oak Hill had its best chance late in the half when Brittaney Marquis and Julie Morneault were in pursuit of a loose ball in front but neither could get a shot on net.

“We knew they didn’t have one great girl up top,” said Byrne. “We knew everybody contributed to their goal scoring. It was a matter of marking up everybody and playing the way we know how to play.”

The Raiders played much better in the second half and moved the ball well at times. Sarah Carpenter had a shot off a dead ball nine minutes in.

Then a defensive breakdown and a strong run by Emma Byrne led to the third goal with 25:16 left. She burst by a group of defenders and got in alone for the shot.

“I told them that the key was that we showed up to play and we were ready from the start,” said Little.

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