Warren's Jess Susz had a pair of goals in Saturday's 5-0 win over North East.

The Warren Lady Dragons capped off their first full week of the season with a 5-0 win over North East on Saturday. They have now rattled off three straight wins following a season-opening setback to Meadville.

“The girls have responded well since our opening loss,” said Warren coach Jeremy Bickling. “This was their third straight win highlighted by 26 goals and three shutouts.”

Jessica Susz scored a pair of goals, while Kyra Wotorson, Taryn Phillips and Mackenzie Bickling added one each. Bickling assisted on every goal but her own and scored her’s on a feed from Wotorson. The defense was once again excellent, with Abby Arnold earning the shutout in net.

Warren was able to find the back of the net after a few close misses from MJ Fadale and Kyliegh Wilson. Wotorson continued her impressive freshman season by redirecting a ball played in the penalty box by Bickling.

North East tried to respond with several attacks, each of which were easily extinguished by the Lady Dragon defense. “Our defensive pressure starts in the midfield,” coach Bickling said. “Brooklynn Neureiter has been brilliant so far this season. She’s making smart plays and excellent decisions”

Warren rallied their high-powered offense and turned up the pressure of the North East net resulting in multiple corner kick opportunities. Susz was able to head in a corner kick from Bickling for the second goal of the game. Minutes later, in nearly the identical circumstances, Susz put in her second header of the game off of Bickling’s corner kick.

“Jessica was unstoppable on corner kicks today,” noted coach Bickling. “Even when they marked her she was able to establish her position and fight to get her head in the ball and blast it past the Keeper. Jess works hard on the defensive side of the ball, so it was great to see her get two amazing goals. Finishing off corner kicks is a weapon we needed.”

The Lady Dragons took the 3-0 lead into the half.

“We were really pleased with the first half,” added coach Bickling. “One of our biggest improvements this season is being able to put together a complete game . Our defense takes pride in a shutout and they don’t tune out just because we have a generous lead.”

The second half saw more pressure on the goal with the Picker keeper making plays on several shots from MJ Fadale and Lexie Grubbs. The teams were locked in a defensive battle with Arnold picking up all five of her saves in the game in the second half .

“Abby has been outstanding in goal,” coach Bickling said.

“She is still getting settled in but for someone that’s been in goal for just over six months, she’s doing phenomenal.”

Warren was able to put the game out of reach when Bickling dribbled deep into the North East defense and slid a pass to Taryn Phillips. The Warren senior then squeezed a shot past the outstretched North East goalie.

“Taryn is our utility player,” said coach Bickling. “We trust her in any position on the field. She really comes up big with plays and goals when we need them. Her goal took any hope away from North East.”

Bickling , after dishing out four assists in the game, found her own goal to cap of the scoring . Wotorson was able to find Bickling just outside the 18 yard box . Bickling took a touch and then blasted a shot in the upper corner of the net.

“Mack’s had a great start to the season,” coach Bickling said. “She has accounted for over half of our assists on the season. She also leads in the team tackles and steals. If we don’t have the ball, she’s helping us get possession and then hustling to help us create goal scoring chances .”

The Lady Dragons get minimal time to rest as they return to War Memorial Field Monday for a 5 p.m. showdown with General McLean followed by a two-day tournament in St. Marys in Thursday and Friday .

“We have a big week of non-region games ahead of us,” noted coach Bickling. “All the teams we will face are solid teams. We’re confident we will continue to improve. You can see the team’s confidence and trust in each other grow with each game we play.”