Fontainebleau’s Lady Bulldogs turned in a strong first half performance Friday and held on to defeat the St. Scholastica Academy Doves, 2-1, in a closely contested district match played at SSA, which lived up to its billing, featuring two of the Northshore’s top programs.

FHS (8-1) remained unbeaten in district play upping its mark to 6-0, while SSA (7-2) suffered its first district setback and stands at 5-1.

The two premier soccer clubs squared off and didn’t disappoint the fans playing a quality, spirited match.

SSA'€™s Tricia Johnson goes up for a header attempt Friday night off a corner kick by Danielle Beatty as Fontainebleau goalkeeper Kaitlyn Villars tries to poke the ball away. The header attempt drifted wide right. (Staff Photo by Mike Pervel)

Neither team was able to establish any clear-cut advantage during the first 10 or 12 minutes as the defenses dictated play and the flow of the match.

FHS was awarded a corner kick in the fourth minute, but was unable to convert. Two minutes later, SSA generated their first corner opportunity. In the ninth minute, SSA’s Kelly Gautreaux, who tallied four goals in her last match, freed herself for a shot but was denied by FHS junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Villars. Gautreaux fired off another shot in the 11th minute, but her effort went wide left.

Fontainebleau then generated some offense with sophomore Hannah Leumas punching in a shot assisted by Lauren Ritch in the 16th minute to give the Lady Bulldogs the early lead.

Leumas described her goal.

“Somebody (Ritch) played a really nice ball through and I just ran as fast as I could and luckily I beat the goalie to it,” Leumas said.

“Coach (Carly) Hotard had a plan. We carried it out and things worked out really well,” Leumas added.

Leumas said the Fontainebleau defense was awesome.

“This is a tremendous win. I’m on cloud nine,” the sophomore added.

Hotard said team played a super match with strong defense.

“Going in we felt pretty good, but we knew we were facing a tough challenge. I’m proud of my girls. They definitely rose to the challenge,” Hotard said.

“We did a good job moving the ball around in the first half. We played to feet and worked hard to get the space. We had opportunities on goal and were able to put two in,” Hotard added.

Hotard credited SSA with doing a good job in the second half.

“They really poured it on. I’m proud of the way the defense played. They shut them down and that is all we could ask for.”

Hotard named junior Alexa Herbers as her top defender.

Fontainebleau appeared to gain momentum following Leumas’ goal. On a later possession, Kaley Blanton worked herself free inside the Doves’ defense, but only came away with a near miss as her shot clanked off the left post. After taking a corner kick, the ball was cleared by the Doves’ defense. FHS continued to out quick SSA for control. Shelby Latino dribbled past the SSA defense down the right side and found Blanton for a shot that hooked right.

FHS made the most of its possessions, keeping the pressure on the SSA defense. FHS freshman Laurel Upton put the Lady Bulldogs up 2-0, blasting in a shot from about 20 yards out in the 27th minute. Casey Adkins was credited with the assist on Upton’s goal.

SSA did its best to answer with Tricia Johnson getting off a quality shot, but was turned away by Villars. Three minutes later, SSA was on the attack again following a throw in. Gautreaux managed to get off a shot that slid just right of the net.

Johnson and Gautreaux did their best to continue working hard for shots in the latter part of the first half, but were unable to connect with the FHS defense sagging in. With about four minutes left in the half, Johnson made a rush up the right side, but was turned away with her shot being deflected away. Gautreaux got off a shot from about 20 yards out, but it sailed high. On their next possession, Daniel Beatty hustled for control and put a shot on goal. Her effort was deflected away by Villars.

Fontainebleau’s Lauren Ritch took a shot in the final minute of the first half, but SSA’s Natalie Childress cleared the ball away to keep it 2-0 at the half.

It was like a tale of two halves with Fontainebleau dictating the pace in the first half and SSA jumping back into the match with aggressive play in the second half.

SSA coach Mike Ortner said he changed his club’s formation in the second half.

“I thought it made a big difference. I thought our girls definitely wanted it more in the second half. We gave up some high percentage shots in the first half and made a couple mistakes in the back. That was the difference,” Ortner said.

“It’s easy to go down two goals and buckle in. I’m proud of the way they continued to play with desire in the second half. You can’t spot a team like Fontainebleau two goals and expect to win very many of those matches.”

SSA, playing with a sense of urgency, came out strong in the second half. The Doves established the tempo, keeping the ball in the Fontainebleau end during the first couple minutes. The Doves created a corner kick in the first minute and Johnson rattled off a couple shots that didn’t find the mark. In the 43rd minute, Beatty took a shot that slid left.

The Doves’ renewed enthusiasm and ball control challenged the Lady Dawgs’ defense. In the 46th minute, Beatty took a corner kick and positioned the ball directly on goal. Johnson rose up above the FHS defense and headed in the ball to cut the lead to 2-1.

The Fontainebleau defense didn’t fold, despite SSA’s renewed energy trailing by the one goal.

SSA continued to win 50-50 balls to keep the ball in the FHS side of the field as the match wore on.

Fontainebleau’s defense was up to the challenge, holding off a couple frantic SSA runs as time was winding down to secure the victory to take over sole possession of first place.