North Bend girls edge Marshfield 2-0 in soccer

Mar. 6—NORTH BEND — When North Bend and Marshfield played a number of girls soccer scrimmages during the fall, the teams were fairly evenly matched.

Now that the actual season is here, North Bend won the one regular match between the neighboring schools, blanking the Pirates 2-0 on Thursday.

"I definitely think we did well," said Megan Proett, who had one of North Bend's goals and is one of seven seniors on the squad.

Though the season isn't like a regular one, both because it started six months later than normal and it won't end with the possibility of playoffs, the Bulldogs are looking forward to the next several weeks, Proett said.

"I'm really excited," she said. "It's sentimental. There's so many seniors out here. We're trying to make the best of it.

"I think we're at a good place right now."

North Bend spent most of the first half trying to break through Marshfield's defense for good looks at the goal.

Proett finally found an opening with four minutes to go in the first half, sending a laser to the upper right corner of the net out of reach of Marshfield goalkeeper Kaylin Dea.

"I was aiming for the right corner," she said, admitting at first she thought she had missed a little high. "It was a good play — a good 1-2 pass out to Brooklyn (Garrigus) and she got it back to me."

North Bend made the lead hold up with strong midfield and defensive play and a few stops by goalies Bella Jones and Rachael Snyder, who went back to tend the net after Jones was injured.

Molly Picatti, another of the seniors, added an insurance goal by curving a corner kick into the net with 11:17 to go in the match.

"I hit it perfectly," Picatti said.

Marshfield was coming off a 3-0 win over Junction City, but didn't step up to the level of the Bulldogs, senior Dahlia Kanui said.

"We definitely need to regroup," she said. "Against Junction City we played really good."

But the Tigers aren't at the level of the Bulldogs, she said, adding that during the fall the Pirates did a good job of playing even with the Bulldogs.

"We were constantly playing at that level," Kanui said. "We're going to take that same level into the next game.

"It's a real eye-opener."

Marshfield coach Pio Figueroa gave the Bulldogs credit.

"They didn't let us play our game," he said. "They were more prepared."

After Marshfield's strong start in its opener, he admitted being a little upset at the effort against the Bulldogs.

"I was expecting more," Figueroa said. "I'm still proud."

North Bend coach Tony Picatti said he was pleased with the improvement his team has shown.

"They're headed in the right direction," he said.

The coach added he hopes for a strong season for the big senior class.

"This would have been the year for the girls," he said. "We're going to try to make the best we can."

The Bulldogs have back-to-back road matches at Junction City on Tuesday and Springfield on Wednesday before hosting St. Mary's of Medford on Saturday.

Marshfield, meanwhile, is home against Cottage Grove on Thursday, the only match for the Pirates this week.