Staff photo / Joel Whetzel Poland Seminary captain Avrey Grischow passes the ball to a teammate as Niles’ Alivia Shaw approaches to try and block it.

NILES — A stout performance by Poland’s defense and a first-half goal by Ava Blinsky made the difference for the Bulldogs on Wednesday, as the girls soccer team raided Niles for a 1-0 win in Northeast 8 league play.

Blinsky cleaned up a misplayed corner kick midway through the first half for the game’s only score. The Bulldogs (4-1-1, 4-1) capitalized on their best opportunity after Niles’ goalkeeper couldn’t corral the ball in.

“I just went into the open space, and it hit off the goalie’s hands so I put it in,” Blinsky said.

Meanwhile, the Poland defense kept the Red Dragons (4-4-1, 4-2) at bay for the better part of the night. Goalkeeper Leanne Williams only faced a couple shots on goal, and collected each of Niles’ scoring threats in the win.

Poland head coach Neil Huda praised his defense.

“They’re a fast defense; they’re quick and good on the ball,” he said. “They also can recover quickly.”

Seminary controlled the tempo for much of the night, but particularly throughout the first half. Niles couldn’t muster many good looks during the first 40 minutes, thanks in large part to Poland maintaining possessions.

The Red Dragons’ best opportunity came at the 14:50 mark on a corner kick, but Poland was able to quickly handle the threat.

A few minutes later, Ariana Daniels nearly added to Poland’s advantage, as she battled her way through the Niles defense before firing off a shot that ended up sailing high.

In the second half, however, Niles came out firing, earning a couple of corner kicks in the half’s opening minutes. But each of those attempts was thwarted by the stingy Poland defense to maintain the Bulldog lead.

Avrey Grischow put a shot on goal for Poland with 32 minutes left in the half, but it was saved by Niles’ Alexis Macciocca, who finished with 12 stops. The Red Dragons countered with a shot on goal by Briona Bash, but Williams collected the shot.

Niles got off a couple final rushed shots with about 10 minutes remaining in the game, but nothing that amounted to a threat, and Poland was able to hold on.

While he was pleased with the win, Huda would like to see some more offense moving forward. He also credited Niles’ defense for keeping Poland’s chances to a minimum.

“I thought Niles was a great opponent today, and a great contest for us,” he said. “I’d like to improve more on our offense. I think we lacked a little on offense today; we’re usually used to quicker movement, but give Niles credit. They were good defensively.”

For Niles, meanwhile, the loss snapped a 4-game win streak and marked the third time the Red Dragons were shut out in a contest.

Head coach Scott MacMillian said he was anticipating a tight contest.

“When we play Poland, the team that doesn’t make a mistake wins,” he said. “Our keeper misplayed a ball in the air. Unfortunately, stuff happens. It was the difference, playing them like we played them for 80 minutes, and that’s really the breakdown. (Poland is) a good team, and it’s always a hard-fought game.”

Like Huda, MacMillan says he’d like to get his team’s offense clicking. Blinsky’s goal was just the seventh Niles’ defense has given up all season, but he said he’d like the offense to come along and begin gelling.

“Our biggest problem is finishing. We’re having a hard time connecting up top,” he said. “We’re trying to figure it all out still. … We need to learn to score, and that comes with maturity and players playing together. We have a couple freshmen playing with sophomores, so we’re growing.”

Both teams are back into conference action Monday, as Poland visits Struthers and Niles hosts Hubbard.