The Warren Lady Dragons Soccer Team took one step closer to their postseason goals by shutting out the top-scoring team in District 10 on Saturday, blanking Bradford, 4-0.

The Lady Owls came into the match having scored 45 goals in just six matches. Kyleigh Wilson put in 3 goals against the Lady Owls for her second hat trick of the week, finishing the week with a torrid eight goals. Kyra Wotorson also capped off a stellar week of play with a goal, matching Wilson’s eight for the week.

“This was a big win,” said Warren coach Jeremy Bickling. “Bradford came into the game with some momentum. They have been proficient at scoring this season.”

Bradford’s success in scoring came to an end as the Lady Dragons’ defense held the Lady Owls to only five shots on goal. Alyssa Anderson finished the week with her third shutout in seven days and fifth on the season

Warren dominated possession in the first half and had several opportunities that were near misses on goal or collected by the Bradford goalkeeper.

“We were super pleased with the effort and work rate today,” Bickling said. “We have players that are dinged up and under the weather. This group is tough, they rally around each other and get it done. “

The Lady Dragons’ midfield and defense high work rate quickly turned any threat into a counter-attack. Warren was finally able to find success midway through the first half when Wilson ran on to a pass from Georgie Bickling. Wilson then beat the Bradford keeper putting the ball in the far side of the net.

Bradford was able to put together their biggest threat of the day late in the first half when a Lady Owl collected a mishandled ball and had only Warren’s goalkeeper to beat. Anderson stepped out of goal and wisely made a play on the Bradford player taking the ball from her feet and blowing up the play.

“Alyssa is quietly one of the biggest talents on our team and in my opinion arguably one of the best goalkeepers in District 10,” Bickling said. “She knew she had one play to make on the attacker and she locked in on the ball and tackled the player, winning the ball.”

The Lady Dragons came out in the second half with Wilson putting in two goals in quick succession. The first, a header off a scrum in front of the goal and the second was through hard work fighting off 2 defenders to break free to beat the keeper.

“Kyleigh has a great attitude about her success this season,” coach Bickling said. “She asks questions, she’s constantly looking to improve her game and plays the game full-speed. Her goals in the second half were all about effort .”

Warren had a comfortable 3-0 lead but still had nearly 15 minutes left in the game to keep Bradford under control.

Warren’s senior-led midfield dominated possession, pinning the Lady Owls in their half of the field.

“Brooklyn (Neureiter) and Jessica (Susz) were brilliant,” Bickling said. “They were disruptive breaking up plays and starting our counter-attacks. MJ (Fadale) and Sawyer (Mohney) really hustled today and helped get great services into our attack.”

The Lady Dragons ended the match with an exclamation point, as Wotorson finished off a chip pass from MJ Fadale putting the score to 4-0.

“The girls have had a great week,” Bickling said. “We had a couple of softer opponents this week and most teams use those opportunities to pad their stat sheets. We asked the girls to use those games to work on our possession, shot selection, movement with and without the ball. They took that work and turned it into a huge win. “

The Lady Dragons improve to 5-2 on the season and face two key region games this week versus Meadville and Hickory, beginning Tuesday at Meadville.