The John Stark girls soccer team won its season opener on Friday, Aug. 29, beating ConVal, 3-2. The team is led by four seniors, but the bulk of players are juniors and sophomores, and head coach Heather Doucette needs those players to continue to perform like they did against ConVal.

Two rapid-fire goals in the first half and a second- half tally – all from juniors and sophomores – kept the Lady Generals in front. Stark worked for an 18-11 shot advantage. “We’re a young team,” said Doucette. “We’ve got some veteran seniors leading, but we also have freshmen who are stepping up.”

Junior Lauren Macklin gave JS the lead with an outside kick three minutes into the first half. Three minutes later sophomore Allison Harris lobbed a shot over the goalkeeper’s head for the second score of the game, putting the Lady Generals ahead, 2-0.

Though ConVal’s senior captain, Ashley Reis, cut Stark’s lead in half before halftime, junior Emily Pineault led off the second half with a goal as JS regained a two-goal cushion.

“Pineault’s been stepping up this year. Her maturity and game speed have increased. She’s a huge asset,” said Doucette. Reis slipped a header past John Stark’s winning keeper, senior Brittany Purington, to cap the scoring.

“It’s always a tough game against (ConVal). They’re a physical team,” said Doucette. “I think we could have dominated out there, but we have room to mature.”