Staff photo / Preston Byers Niles’ Kherington Stanford tries to dribble past Struthers’ Carmella Lanzo during Monday’s match in Struthres.

STRUTHERS — Niles started quickly Monday evening, scoring a goal in the first five minutes of its Northeast 8 girls soccer match at Struthers, but the next 15 minutes was less than stellar according to its coach.

“It kind of started getting a little sloppy and unfocused,” Niles head coach Scott MacMillan said. “It’s not about the score; it’s about how we play this game … I told them they forgot how to play underneath. They forgot how to relieve their pressure, and they weren’t working together.

“I told them they had to keep it simple, and they had to start working together more and combining.”

During a short water break 20 minutes into the match, the Red Dragons received their coach’s message and shortly thereafter began an offensive onslaught that resulted in a 9-0 Niles thumping of Struthers.

Kherington Stanford, whose activity in the Wildcats’ half caused many turnovers and created just as many chances, attempted a shot on goal that was deflected by Struthers goalkeeper Ava Croyle. The ball bounced into the path of Brianna Booksing, who finished off the attack for the Red Dragons’ second goal of the match.

A minute later, Niles kept up its attack and scored another goal; this time, Ava Ferri converted on a cross into the box after a corner kick. Less than two minutes after that, Stanford took the ball away on a throw-in and managed to sneak her shot in between Croyle’s legs for the Dragons’ fourth and final goal of the half.

During the halftime break, a frustrated Struthers head coach Ron Bartholomew tried to break his team out of its funk.

Niles was much too strong for the message to change the result, however. The Red Dragons scored three goals in a matter of two minutes early in the second half, pushing the advantage to 7-0.

Struthers got its best chance to score 12 minutes into the second half when Addison Cool’s shot on goal was slowed but not stopped by Niles keeper Gianna Wagner.

The ball rolled slowly toward the goal line and appeared destined to roll into the net, but a Niles player cleared the ball off of the line and kept the Wildcats off of the scoreboard.

The Dragons added two more goals, one of which a successful penalty kick by Emma Merlo, for a commanding away victory.

MacMillan said controlling the game and the opposing team’s defense with possession, as well as earning a favorable chance at a goal every 10 minutes, is a point of emphasis for the Red Dragons.

If his team’s nine goals, five of which came off of the leg of sophomore Maddie Yost, are any indication, MacMillan’s objectives were accomplished.

Bartholomew said his team, which rarely had possession of the ball, will need to improve in that aspect of the game to achieve success this year.

“We got to get better control of the game,” Bartholomew said. “We’re letting the other team dictate the speed of the ball, the direction of the ball and we’re letting them put too much pressure on our goalie. So we have to work on that, or it’s going to be a long season.”

The win is the third of the season for Niles, which defeated Lakeview on Aug. 21 and Berkshire on Saturday. Stanford, who scored in each of those games, continued her goal-per-game average and added four assists Monday.

Just as important as the win is the injury management of key Niles players Cali Rodgers, Angel Guerrero and Taylor Bickerstaff.

“They got some cramping and stuff in the last couple days. We got a hard couple games coming up,” said MacMillan, who attributed some of the poor play early to his attempt to rest the trio.

Struthers drops to 1-1 on the year; the Wildcats beat LaBrae 3-1 on the road Aug. 19 in their season opener.

Niles hosts Austintown Fitch on Wednesday, while Struthers will visit South Range the same evening.

Have an interesting story? Contact Preston Byers by email at pbyers@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @PresByers.