VERGENNES — After three quick strikes into the back of the net from Vergennes Union High School freshman forward Sophia James on Saturday, the visiting Lyndon girls’ soccer team was out of the game. The Vikings, who showed up with just 11 players in steamy weather, weren’t coming back from an 3-0 deficit less than eight minutes after the kickoff.

And the Commodore girls’ soccer team made sure Lyndon didn’t rally. Junior striker Ava Francis added three goals, three other Commodores chipped in with a goal apiece, and senior forward Tryphene Miguel set up two scores as VUHS rolled to a 9-1 victory. The Commodores improved to 4-1 heading into a tougher game at Rice on Tuesday (see girls’ soccer wrap-up).

First-year Coach Morgan Kathan said with the team’s more challenging league schedule ahead, one of her goals for Saturday’s game against winless Lyndon was to tinker with the lineup and ball movement to spark more offense.

That box was checked, with the center mid tandem of junior Ashtin Stearns and sophomore Eva Borah helping to dictate play.

VUHS SENIOR TRYPHENE Miguel races a Lyndon defender for the ball during the Commodore girls’ soccer team’s home victory on Saturday.
Independent photo/Steven James

“Today we tried a brand-new formation as we have some of our league games coming up,” Kathan said. “Our hope today was just to really focus on our middle, and what our people were going to do in the middle, and our distribution, and how we could generate more goals.”

The defense continues to be strong, Kathan said, with only one fluky goal allowed on Saturday and seven overall through five games. On Saturday, sophomore Adrienne Smits and freshman Lauren Husk started as center backs, with senior Jing Williams and junior Nilah Fitzgerald on the flanks.

In goal, junior Quincy Sabick, who’s been splitting time there with sophomore Faith McCallister, started. Sabick stopped two of the three shots the Commodores allowed on Saturday. Meanwhile, they outshot the Vikings, 31-14, and forced Lyndon goalie Mariah Birch to make 12 stops.

Kathan also saw another element improve. “(We were) just really cleaning up some of our passes and some of our movement so that we can really give it a great run with some of these league games coming up.”

Hopefully, the offense will keep clicking the way it did versus the Vikings. James started the scoring four minutes in, beating the Viking defense to a Borah through-ball, touching it to the right, away from the charging Birch, and knocking it into the empty net.

VUHS SOPHOMORE MIDFIELDER Eva Borah charges after the ball during the Commodore girls’ soccer team’s Saturday home victory.
Independent photo/Steven James

James struck again less than a minute later, this time taking a feed from the left from sophomore mid Isabelle Van Voorst and again taking a touch to her right before finishing from close range.

In the eighth minute, Miguel crossed from the right wing to James off the right post. James shot past the goalie toward the far post. A defender tried to block the shot, but it went off her foot and into  the net to complete James’ early hat trick.

Less than four minutes later, senior forward Kierston Wigle joined the hit parade, tapping a nifty left-to-right feed from Francis home to make it 4-0.

For Lyndon, midfielder Ella Marshia — who looked like the Vikings’ best all-around performer — and speedy forward Annelisa Webber posed occasional threats. McAllister, stationed at midfield, broke up one strong Webber run, and Sabick made a save at the right post on a Marshia corner kick. Sabick also came out smartly to intervene on a serve toward Viking Kara Crooks.

But the next goal came from a Commodore, Van Voorst, who poked home the rebound of a Francis blast late in the half.

The second half was more of the same. Francis made it 6-0 by finishing a nice give-and-go play with James. Megan Willis made it 7-0 by knocking in a cross from the left from Miguel, who won a ball at midfield and beat a couple defenders before serving. Francis made 8-0 after stealing the ball from a defender, going in alone and finishing into the left side.

COMMODORE SENIOR FORWARD Kierston Wigle sees her scoring bid at the right post denied by diving Lyndon goalie Mariah Birch during the Commodore girls’ soccer team’s Saturday home victory.
Independent photo/Steven James

Lyndon made it 8-1 when Webber pounced on a miss-hit goal kick and drilled a 25-yard, one-time shot into the goal’s left side with about 17 minutes to go (the clock was running on a mercy rule). Francis later capped the scoring by drilling home a loose ball that bounced around the box after James served it in.

Moving forward, Kathan feels she can ask the Commodores to toggle between the more aggressive 4-2-3-1 formation they used on Saturday and the more conservative 4-4-2 look they had been relying upon.

“Depending on the game, now we’ve worked on two formations, and I feel like our team is doing a really good job of just taking on new roles, new thoughts, and really implementing our ideas from practice out here,” she said.

A positive attitude is also a strong point, Kathan believes.

“We’re having a lot of fun in practice. We’re doing the things we need to do in practice to be successful,” Kathan said. “Our team chemistry is really strong, and we’re seeing a lot of kids step out of their shells at practice, which is helping them feel more successful and confident.”

COMMODORE JUNIOR MIDDIE Faith McAllister heads the ball out of harm’s way during the Commodore girls’ soccer team’s Saturday home victory.
Independent photo/Steven James

Kathan is aware of the challenges that lie ahead, with two games each against strong D-II sides Rice, Milton, Middlebury and Mount Abraham included on their Lake Division schedule.

Thus, she acknowledged, the question is how the team should define success.

“Our goal this year is how we can better ourselves physically and mentally,” Kathan said. “Success isn’t always winning, and that’s tough to tell somebody. But it’s going to be how do we better ourselves now when playoffs come (later) … And are we getting better every time out?