St. Albans Soccer kicked off conference play with a 3-0 win over St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes on a rain-soaked Steuart Field Tuesday afternoon. A light mist at the start of the game gradually turned into a pouring shower as players struggled to keep their footing and control the wet ball. After two STA goals were disallowed due to offsides, the Bulldogs got on the board in the 35^th minute. From 32 yards out and tight against the left sideline, freshman back Will Long sent a high arcing ball into the crease area to senior Patrick Brady, who perfectly placed a header just under the crossbar.

 

The rain and St. Albans’ offensive pressure were unrelenting in the second half. Just two minutes into the half, Patrick Brady ran down a Saints’ defender deep in their half, stole the ball and found his brother, junior Tom Brady, sprinting through the middle lane. Tom beat his man with one touch, split two more defenders, and blasted a shot just inside the near post to put the Bulldogs up 2-0. Senior Xavier Wigglesworth closed out the scoring at the 68-minute mark, finishing a perfect feed from senior Chris Bates. Junior Jacob Romhilt started the play with a long clear down the right sideline. Bates outran his defender, turned the corner at 10 yards out, made the keeper commit to him, then slid a perfect pass across to Wigglesworth for a tap-in.

 

The Bulldogs are 1-0 in IAC play and 5-0 overall. They still have not given up a goal in regular season play. The Dogs face their first road test of the season Friday when they head to Potomac, MD to take on Bullis at 4:30pm.