From end to end, the Helias Lady Crusaders were in charge to the end.
"We have a great group, we have all the tools to be a great team," Helias coach Brad Dempsey said after the Lady Crusaders blanked the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Lady Tigers 3-0 on Wednesday night at the 179 Soccer Park.
"We saw 80 minutes of maximum effort. The girls came out and played as a team."
It didn't take long for the Lady Crusaders to assert their dominance as Helias scored twice in a six-minute span to take the lead.
"We attacked, we took the ball at them," Dempsey said.
Helias got on the board a little more than 10 minutes into the contest. Sarah Pierle drove down the right side toward the Smith-Cotton net and as the Smith-Cotton goalie came out to stop her, slotted a pass to Reese Hamilton on the other side.
"Pierle played fantastic tonight," Dempsey said.
Hamilton then one-timed her shot into the net for the lead.
The play symbolized what the Lady Crusaders are looking for from their offense.
"We want everybody to let it loose, attack, be players," Dempsey said. "We're starting to see that, we're getting the pressure off our shoulders and having fun out there."
The Lady Crusaders doubled their advantage with 23:22 on the clock when Maya Heckart lined a shot from the top of the box past the Lady Tiger keeper.
"That's the second game in a row she's cracked one from out there," Dempsey said.
The Lady Crusaders got their final goal with a little more than 28 minutes remaining.
Helias keeper Ashley Rehagen booted the ball down the field, which Kayla Yanskey settled and knocked to the far corner of the net.
"It's not often you see a goalkeeper get an assist," Dempsey said. "And it was a good finish. Kayla did a great job of staying in control and getting the goal."
On the other end, the Lady Tigers (7-5) were getting next to nothing of consequence against Rehagen and the Lady Crusader defense.
"Our defense was fantastic," Dempsey said. "That's not a bad team we just played, they are going to be dangerous down the road."
It was the fourth shutout of the season for Helias (4-7).
"We're learning from our losses, we know we're getting better for the postseason," Dempsey said.
The Lady Crusaders are back in action Friday and Saturday at the Sacred Heart-Griffin Tournament in Springfield, Ill. It's the first time they've played in the event.
"We're excited, we've never played anybody that we'll see up there," Dempsey said.
Helias will face the host school Friday night, then play two games Saturday.
In Wednesday night's JV game, Helias posted an 8-0 victory against Smith-Cotton to improve to 6-1.
Hannah Loethen, Jennifer Szumigala and Grace Winager all scored two goals, and Megan Kerr and Michalee Sipi each tallied one. Kaylee Fennewald, Lanie Hentges, Loethen and Szumigala all had an assist. Ally Webb and Anna Knollmeyer shared time in goal in the win.