WINSLOW — Not all that many seasons ago, the Waterville girls soccer team simply bludgeoned opponents with its ability to score goals seemingly at will. Those days are gone, replaced by a defense simply refusing to yield.

The Purple Panthers posted their fourth straight shutout on Saturday, a 1-0 win over rival Winslow in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B game at Kennebec Savings Bank Field. It was Waterville’s second straight 1-nil victory as the Purple Panthers closed the first half of the season with a 6-1-0 mark, having allowed just three goals since the opening whistle of the season.

Paige St. Pierre’s 18th-minute goal stood up as the difference against the Black Raiders (3-3-2).

“We worked together well, we did what we needed to do, and that was that,” St. Pierre said. “We really have to work to get to where we want to be this season, and I feel like we’ve been doing a lot of that this season.”

Winslow enjoyed the bulk of the possession, spending a conservative estimate of 60 percent of the match with the ball at its feet. The Black Raiders worked the ball to the wide areas, built into the attack by connecting small passes in the middle of the park, and were themselves active enough defensively to keep the game contained from 18-yard box to 18-yard box.

One defensive breakdown, with St. Pierre left unmarked to get on the end of an Emme Ayers cross from the left side, was all it took to leave Winslow chasing the result over the final hour of play.

“I think we’re getting better at it, and it’s a really great thing to win 1-0 games,” Waterville coach Mark Serdjenian said. “I thought we were fairly composed in holding the lead. We knew they were dangerous, but we handled it well. Overall, there was good team balance, but the defense has been really, really super for us. … I think we’re really solid back there as a unit.”

“That was a good back line (for Waterville),” said Winslow coach Lacey Smith, who last year served as an assistant coach at Waterville. “We could improve our movement a little bit off the ball attacking-wise to get them unorganized more, but that’s tough at the same time because it is such a good back line. It’s tough to be disappointed when the majority of the time we played well and were applying what we’re doing in training.”

Waterville scored on its only shot attempt of the first half, on a day in which it generated only four on-target shots in all.

St. Pierre said she finds less pressure with so few chances, as opposed to being the target on a team that creates opportunities relentlessly.

“As weird as this sounds, it’s honestly easier for me,” St. Pierre said. “It’s a one-and-done thing where we need to get this to move forward. I’d say that’s a lot easier.”

Many of Winslow’s chances — the Black Raiders took 12 cracks at goal — were from long distance. The ones which did threaten to find a way between the sticks were handled by Waterville goalkeeper Jacie Richard (five saves).

“I think we can anticipate what’s going to happen really well,” said Ayers, a junior center back. “We’ve identified where they’re going to try to go, and we try to shut that down early in the midfield if we can.”

Winslow’s best chance at drawing level came in the 54th minute, when Katie Doughty’s free kick from 25  yards out caught Richard by surprise. The keeper didn’t handle it cleanly, ushering the ball into the path of a rushing Grace Bilodeau. Bilodeau popped the rebound bid well over the crossbar.

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