In just their second season of varsity soccer, the Silverdale Baptist Academy girls have risen to the top of District 5-A/AA.

The Lady Seahawks played their first match in the school’s new football stadium Tuesday night, and they secured their place atop the district standings with a 2-0 victory over Arts & Sciences.

“For it to be our second season and our first game on this field, it was huge,” Silverdale coach Dana Fouts said after a historic win for her team. “We knew coming in that it was going to be a tough match. We had to be on our game, and we were.”

The match featured two of the city’s top scorers, but only Silverdale’s Bonnie Buckley added to her total Tuesday. Buckley’s 22nd goal of the season came about 20 minutes in, while the Lady Seahawks’ defense was able to keep top Arts & Sciences scorer Allison Gehron out of the net.

“We knew that our defense had to be on, but we weren’t going into it with a defensive mindset,” Fouts said. “We knew they were going to try to shut Bonnie down and that everybody else needed to step up, and that’s what happened.”

Silverdale (9-1-1, 5-0-1) shut down several CSAS scoring chances in the second half, the most dangerous of which came off a ball from Robyn Anthony with just over 18 minutes on the clock. Anthony took a pass and raced past the Lady Seahawks’ defense, but keeper Lauren Pruitt somehow managed to get in front of what would have been an equalizing goal.

And with around eight minutes remaining in the match, Silverdale added an insurance goal when Buckley sent a shot off the crossbar and Stephanie Bautista was there to follow, sending the large group of Lady Seahawks fans to their feet.

“God has really blessed this school and this soccer program,” Fouts said. “For us to be doing this well in our second year is just incredible. The thing I’m most proud of is that the team comes first for them, and I think that’s why they’ve been so successful.”

Pruitt and Lady Patriots keeper Catherine Hilliard each finished with five saves as CSAS moved to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in 5-A/AA. Coach Ron Nance said he was pleased with the Lady Patriots’ performance in the second half and hopes their effort will carry over throughout the rest of the year.

“That’s the kind of intensity you need for the postseason,” Nance said. “I want the girls to realize we have a good chance of seeing them again if we take care of business in the district.”

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