The Dexter girls' soccer team kicked off its season a little later than the Dreadnaughts had planned but that's because plans don't always go as planned.

The Dreads were scheduled to open a few weeks ago with games at Walled Lake Central and Walled Lake Northern but those games were scratched after a tornado caused significant damage throughout the community. Dexter's game with Haslett last week also was cancelled because of a scheduling mix-up.

The Dreads finally took the field on a drizzly Saturday afternoon and shut out host Pinckney 2-0 in a game Dexter pretty much controlled from start to finish.

The tornado that hit Dexter earlier in the month obviously had an effect on the Dexter soccer program.

"We have one girl who isn't living in her home and two girls on the JV side whose grandmother's house was pretty hard hit," Forrester said. "As a community it brought everyone together. I think maybe because of that we have a little more sense of a purpose early in the season."

And Dexter showed some of that "sense of purpose" on Saturday. The Dreads came out focused and with a lot of energy. Forrester also played quite a few players, keeping his starting lineup fresh and aggressive throughout the win.

Jaimie Verbal, one of the team's captains was pleased with how the Dreads opened the season.

"We were able to work well out of the back and kept the pressure on and were able to finish on a couple of our shots," she said.

Nicole Lucas was in on both Dexter goals, scoring the first one and then picking up an assist on Dexter's second goal. "She started off creating a lot of pressure and has the ability to take players on," Forrester said.

The senior helped get Dexter on the board by putting pressure on the Pinckney goaltender midway through the first half. After a fairly evenly played game up to this point, Lucas and the Dreads took advantage of a Pirate mistake. At the 22.56 mark of the first half, Pinckney's goalie came way out of the net to field the ball but misjudged it and it took a huge bounce over her head. Continued...

Lucas was coming on fast and got past the goalie easily guided the ball into the open net to give Dexter a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates, who were limited on scoring chances for most of the game by Dexter's dominant midfield and defenders, did create a breakaway opportunity with 8 minutes left in the first half. But Dexter senior goalie Sarah Silvasi quickly put an end to that by coming out of the goal and taking the ball right off the Pinckney player's foot.

Dexter scored its second goal of the game early in the second half. Lucas got the assist on a goal by senior standout Victoria Pepper at the 36:34 mark.

At 26:40 of the second half, Pinckney had its best scoring chance of the second half thwarted by Silvasi, who made a nice diving save to her right.

"The was a great start and a great shutout by our defense and Sarah and hopefully it carries over to our games after Spring Break," Forrester said. &

The Dexter girls' soccer team kicked off its season a little later than the Dreadnaughts had planned but that's because plans don't always go as planned.

The Dreads were scheduled to open a few weeks ago with games at Walled Lake Central and Walled Lake Northern but those games were scratched after a tornado caused significant damage throughout the community. Dexter's game with Haslett last week also was cancelled because of a scheduling mix-up.

The Dreads finally took the field on a drizzly Saturday afternoon and shut out host Pinckney 2-0 in a game Dexter pretty much controlled from start to finish.

The tornado that hit Dexter earlier in the month obviously had an effect on the Dexter soccer program.

"We have one girl who isn't living in her home and two girls on the JV side whose grandmother's house was pretty hard hit," Forrester said. "As a community it brought everyone together. I think maybe because of that we have a little more sense of a purpose early in the season."

And Dexter showed some of that "sense of purpose" on Saturday. The Dreads came out focused and with a lot of energy. Forrester also played quite a few players, keeping his starting lineup fresh and aggressive throughout the win.

Jaimie Verbal, one of the team's captains was pleased with how the Dreads opened the season.

"We were able to work well out of the back and kept the pressure on and were able to finish on a couple of our shots," she said.

Nicole Lucas was in on both Dexter goals, scoring the first one and then picking up an assist on Dexter's second goal. "She started off creating a lot of pressure and has the ability to take players on," Forrester said.

The senior helped get Dexter on the board by putting pressure on the Pinckney goaltender midway through the first half. After a fairly evenly played game up to this point, Lucas and the Dreads took advantage of a Pirate mistake. At the 22.56 mark of the first half, Pinckney's goalie came way out of the net to field the ball but misjudged it and it took a huge bounce over her head.

Lucas was coming on fast and got past the goalie easily guided the ball into the open net to give Dexter a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates, who were limited on scoring chances for most of the game by Dexter's dominant midfield and defenders, did create a breakaway opportunity with 8 minutes left in the first half. But Dexter senior goalie Sarah Silvasi quickly put an end to that by coming out of the goal and taking the ball right off the Pinckney player's foot.

Dexter scored its second goal of the game early in the second half. Lucas got the assist on a goal by senior standout Victoria Pepper at the 36:34 mark.

At 26:40 of the second half, Pinckney had its best scoring chance of the second half thwarted by Silvasi, who made a nice diving save to her right.

"The was a great start and a great shutout by our defense and Sarah and hopefully it carries over to our games after Spring Break," Forrester said.&