A well-oiled machine, otherwise known as the South Whidbey girls soccer team, took to the field Oct. 9 and blanked Sultan 3-0.

Grace Itaya scored twice and Annie Doran once, but the key to the game was clearly the efforts of Rachel Harris, Kelsey Kimmel, Jennifer Shafer, Kaylay Mulcahy, Anna Schmitt, Lauren Sandri, Christine Johnson and goalie Amelia Cave.

“Our defensive game was very good, the girls offered Sultan lots of layers to cross before they could even get close to making a goal,” Falcon Coach Paul Arand said.

Cave didn’t see that many shots, but she did have a number of saves which helped prevent the Turks from scoring.

Though the girls did their best — at least seven close attempts — the game remained scoreless at the half.

Itaya got her first goal five minutes into the second period from about 12 yards out through Sultan’s defense. Doran fired hers deep on the right side and chipped it over the goalie’s head. Itaya scored again on a re-bound for the final goal.

“It was an absolute team effort,” Arand said.

“Kelsey, Anna and Emily kept winning the ball back, which is one of our key strategies for every game,” he said.

Another is moving the ball forward relentlessly, passing with authority and finding the seams in the Turk defense. “Our passing attack picked up speed considerably in the second half,” the coach said.

But all the speed in the world can’t overcome unexpected injuries, as the team discovered Thursday in their 5-1 loss to Kings.

With Kimmel gone for the second half and several players sidelined with injuries, the Falcons suffered a 5-1 drubbing by the Knights.

“They were as physical a team as we’ve played, with a couple of powerful forwards,” Arand said. “And they have several girls who play soccer year-around. We always have to be sure and match speed and size as close as possible.”

Though he realized Kings strong presence early on the field, Arand thought the South Whidbey girls had a serious chance for a victory after Itaya fired the first score across the goal through a mob in front of the net.

“Rachel and Jennifer stymied their forwards most of the game while Amelia kept her composure even after one of their forwards crashed into her,” Arand said. “There were great efforts by Grace and Lauren as well.”

South Whidbey is now even at 5-5 in the Cascade Conference, 7-5 overall.

Cedarcrest remains in first, their undefeated 10-0 record clinching a spot at the 2A district playoffs.

In a late schedule change, the game with Lakewood on Oct. 26 has been moved up.

The game will start at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, at the upper soccer field. The team also invites fans for cider and cookies at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19 to celebrate Senior Night before the Granite Falls contest.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or sports@southwhidbeyrecord.com.