Hyde’s Ingrid Schroeter (15) boots the ball on goal as Mountain Valley’s Audra Bean (10) defends. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)

New to the Mountain Valley Conference, the Hyde girls high school soccer team knew they would have some tough competition this year.

The Wolfpack earned their second win of the season on Monday, defeating the Mountain Valley Falcons, 8-2, behind five goals from freshman Lily Huettel to improve to 2-4.

“We had a tough loss last week to Madison (4-3) after leading 2-0,” Hyde coach Mark Newberg said. “So to come out here today and play like we did was great.”

It took less than five minutes for Hyde to tally a score. At 34:19, Huettel notched her first goal beating Falcons keeper Taylor Henry.

Following another Huettel score, Mountain Valley cut the deficit to one at 19:42. After an infraction in the box, Saydie Garbarini railed a penalty kick to the upper left corner of the net for the score.

Hyde answered five minutes later when Huettel picked up the ball from Ingrid Schroeter and knocked it to the back of the net to make it 3-1.

“The team knows how I play and where to get me the ball,” Huettel said. “After that, it’s pass or shoot, that’s our dynamic.”

The first-year student registered her fourth goal of the half with 6:43 remaining.

“She has an incredible nose for the goal,” Newberg said of his of his striker. “We’ve been working with her because she tends to want to bring the ball outside rather than keep it in the middle. Now that she’s keeping it in the middle, she’s been a force.”

Schroeter capped off the first half scoring with a goal off a Huettel helper for a 5-1 halftime lead for the Wolfpack. Hyde outshot the Falcons 12-2 in the first 40 minutes.

Hyde’s Bridget Barone (4) keeps the ball from going out of bounds as Mountain Valley’s Sarah-Jane Koch pursues. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)

Second frame

Logan Truluck scored for Hyde to begin the half. The junior spent most of the first half controlling the midfield for the home team.

“What’s wonderful about Logan is we can put her anywhere on the field,” said Coach Newberg. “If we get in a pinch, we can put her back at sweeper, but this is the first time this year she’s taken on the center midfield role and she’s been doing great. She’s always been a flank player so getting her in the middle of the field has been fun to watch.”

Less than a minute later, the Falcons pushed across their second goal of the game. Kierstyn Lyons was able to put one past Hyde keeper Teal McLane for the score.

“I thought early on we came out flat,” said Falcons coach Jeff Pelletier. “We had a real emotional game at the end of last week against Dirigo, and we talked about that and to play with a lot of heart and not give up.”

Mountain Valley’s Ellie Leduc (9) and Hyde’s Caroline Daly both chase a ball before it heads out of bounds. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)

Huettel beat the Falcons netminder one more time with 17 minutes remaining for her fifth goal of the game.

Huettel and her teammates are warming up to their new conference, getting motivation from their new opponents.

“I think it definitely does,” Huettel said when asked if the new schedule motivates them. “We want to earn our spot in our new conference and see how we stack up with some of the local schools.”

“I’m happy to be playing local high schools,” Newberg said. “It’s a tough conference, but good for the girls.”

Miranda Cully scored Hyde’s final goal of the afternoon.

“It’s a matter of getting them to play and play together,” Newberg said of the win. “Today we played possession and passed the ball well.”

Hyde outshot the visitors 25-8 in the game. McLane turned away six shots for the home team, while Henry made seven first half saves, and Lily White stopped 10 in the second half, including a save on a penalty kick late in the contest.

“They’re talented and they’re fast as their forwards gave us trouble,” Pelletier said. “But I am really proud of our girls. We’re still pretty young and they always play hard and with heart.”

Hyde travels to Oak Hill on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. match with the Raiders.

Lily Huettel (5) of Hyde drives towards the net against Mountain Valley’s Sarah-Jane Koch (14). (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)