The Winnetonka Griffins traveled to Kearney Thursday night to face the Bulldog Girls Soccer team. The Bulldogs found their game after falling Smithville on Tuesday, and shut out Winnetonka 8-0.

*Maddi Stevens (#4) watches Shelby Jensen send the ball for the 3rd goal of the game*

Kearney began the game dominating the ball, but once again, could not find the back of the net. Freshman Emmy Gates scored the first goal 8 minutes and 33 seconds into the game. Three minutes later, Senior Mia Adkins put her name in the scorebook, sending the ball through three Winnetonka players and into the net.

With 19:36 left in the half, Freshman Ella Olberding found the cleat of Junior Shelby Jensen for the half’s 3rd goal. Sophomore Bri Reynolds rounded out the half with a goal of her own, and the teams went to halftime with a 4-0 Bulldog lead.

Just 59 seconds into the 2nd half, Junior Maddi Stevens decided it was her turn, scoring the first goal of the half. Six minutes later, Stevens went in for her second goal, and less then 2 minutes after that goal, Stevens made a short pass back to Mia Adkins, who scored her second goal.

Finishing up the game with 27:36 left, Maddi Stevens scored again to earn a hat trick.

After the game, Stevens talked about the turning point for the team. “We were mad at ourselves; disappointed,” Stevens said. “The coach’s talk at halftime really fired us up!”

Coach Hopkins is optimistic about the rest of the season after the first four games. “We have a lot of room to grow for sure, but we see so much potential in this group of players,” Hopkins replied. “The girls are notorious for starting out the season slow, then something clicks. They figure out each other, and they connect.”

The Bulldogs are 3-3 on the season and travel to Raytown South on Tuesday, April 19, for a game at 7 pm.

KPGZ Sports - Kim Adkins contributed to this story