The Orono girls’ soccer team went into its Class 1A quarterfinal game Wednesday against Dover-Eyota allowing an average of under half a goal per game. After a 3-1 victory at Park of Cottage Grove, it was easy to see why.

Orono’s defense set up an early goal from Carley Hewitt. The defense controlled much of the first half and the sustained pressure nearly lead to a second score with six minutes to go, but the Spartans couldn’t put the ball away at point blank range.

Dover-Eyota’s time on the attack was limited in the first half, but it made a late trip across midfield count. The Eagles’ Haley Finstuen made a couple of nice open-field moves and scored on a rush to tie the score 1-1 with 4:09 left in the half.

The tie was short-lived, however, because the Spartans went back on the attack. With just seconds left in the half, Orono was awarded a penalty kick. Senior Sophie Babo’s initial attempt was blocked, but she knocked in her own rebound to put the Spartans back on top.

In the second half, Orono (16-2-1) continued to dominate play. The midfielders kept Dover-Eyota (15-2-1) bottled up, and the Spartans put two long shots off the crossbar.

“The defense was hitting their spots all game,” Babo said. “They were really communicating, and that allowed us to attack.”

Because of the defense, Babo and the offense were able to attack the entire second half. The sustained pressure finally paid off when Babo scored her second goal late in the half.

“Catherine Fraser gave me a perfect ball,” Babo said. “It would have been a shame if I would have wasted such a good pass.”

Sophie Babo scored two goals for Orono and the team defense played by the second seeded Spartans was too much for Dover-Eyota.

Babo scored on a penalty kick late in the first half to give Orono a 2-1 lead and scored on a header late in the second half to seal the victory.

Check back later for more on the game.