The Lady Cadets soccer travelled to Bainbridge to play the North Putnam Lady Cougars to open up the Cadets Western Indiana Conference schedule. The Lady Cougars have already played two Western Indiana games this season and are off to a solid 2-0 start in both columns. Last season, the Lady Cadets and Lady Cougars played during the regular season and the Lady Cadets pulled out a 1-0 victory over an improving North Putnam team. North Putnam and Cascade were in the same sectional for the past five seasons. But with Cascade moving up to 2A, the sectional rivalry will end for these two schools. However, the Lady Cadets and Cougars will remain in the same conference as both schools have joined the newly formed Monon Conference. The North Putnam Lady Cougars gradually improved last season and were able to build some excitement and competitiveness that helped them get two early conference victories this season against Sullivan and Owen Valley. Last night against Cascade, the Lady Cougars soccer team had hoped to keep up their positive momentum but the Lady Cadets jumped out with four goals in the first 20:00 of the game and threw off the rhythm of the Lady Cougars. Goals by Ava Allen at 37:42 and 34:24 knocked the Cougars off their defensive positions. Anna Burns set up both of the early goals as she provided perfectly touched passes right into Ava’s attacking runs. The 2-0 lead in just 10 minutes changed what could have been a very competitive game. The Cougars found ways to push the ball up the field but they never developed a good scoring chance in the first half. As space started to open up on the field, the Cadets Anna Burns scored her first of three goals on the night when she dribbled around the defense and struck a solid shot over the goalie’s head. The last goal of the first half for the Lady Cadets completed Ava Allen’s hat trick on the night when Ava tapped Regan Franklin’s crossing pass into the goal for a 4-0 lead with 20:00 remaining. For the rest of the first half, the Lady Cadets never really developed any other promising attacks but kept the ball deep in the North Putnam defensive end to prevent strong counter attacks. The first half ended with the Lady Cadets leading 4-1. During their halftime talks, the Cascade coaching staff reminded the Cadets that the Lady Cougars had out hustled the Cadets frequently during the last 10 minutes of the first half. If the Cadets didn’t match the expected intensity of the Lady Cougars, the Cadets would lose all the momentum they gained in the first half. Unfortunately, the Lady Cadets didnt’ respond to the second half energy of the Cougars at the opening whistle and they struggled to find rhythm and pace. North Putnam controlled the ball well and pressured the Cadets goal frequently in the opening 15 minutes but they never found the back of the net against the Cascade defense. After the Cadets finally came around to controlling the midfield, they slowly changed the flow of the game. After a throw-in from Autum Chattin, Ava Allen made an excellent attacking pass to Anna Burns that perfectly split the Cougars defense. Anna blasted the ball past the North Putnam goalie from just inside the top of the penalty box. Anna Burns’ second goal of the game at 21:19 remaining was the breaking point of the Lady Cougars. North Putnam tried to recover some structure and energy but when Anna Burns’ scored her third goal of the game with 17:18 remaining, the continuous clock started and the game slowly wound down. As the Cadets emptied their bench in the last 10 minutes of the game, the Cougars did score a late goal from a penalty kick giving them two goals on the night. But the Cadets dominated for most of the evening and earned a solid 6-2 victory. The 6-2 victory for the Lady Cadets is their first win season (1-0-1). With two more games this weekend at the Lebanon Invitational, the Lady Cadets have plenty of opportunities to continue their work on playing better. The first game this weekend at Lebanon will be played at 12:00 against the host school and win or lose the second game will be played at 4:30 against either Jeffersonville or West Vigo. The Lady Cougars (2-1) move ahead in their schedule and travel to Brown County on Saturday. Game Summary Cascade 6 North Putnam 2 Goals/Assists: 37:42 1st H Ava Allen (1), A: Anna Burns (1) 34:24 1st H Ava Allen (2). A: Anna Burns (2) 30:25 1st H Anna Burns (2) 21:02 1st H Ava Allen (3), A: Regan Franklin (1) 21:19 2nd H Anna Burns (3), A: Ava Allen (1) 17:18 2nd H Anna Burns (4)