Junior forward Heather Haupt scored the game's lone goal in the 17th minute as the West Springfield girls soccer team defeated Marshall, 1-0, on the first day of the Westfield Invitational on Monday.
The Statesmen, who fell to 3-2-1 overall entering Tuesday's game against Westfield, saw the Spartans dominate possession throughout, but were still able to remain in the game as West Springfield missed out on a number of scoring opportunities in both the first and second halves.
"I wish we would have been able to finish. But we definitely created some opportunities," said West Springfield coach West Springfield coach Kellie Mastrodonato. "That's a positive, that the opportunities were there. I think that if the conditions were a little bit better, and we had had some of our personnel, then I think that we would have been able to put it in more.
"But at the same time, the fact that we did the things that we did defensively to preserve the victory I think was pretty good for us."
UNFORTUNATELY FOR Erin Wright's team, that West Springfield defense made it so that they were unable to create many scoring opportunities at all. "I think we did okay," the coach said. "I think we have a long ways to go, but we're moving in the right direction."
Marshall was playing without freshman midfielder Gabi Rangel-Lafuente, while the Spartans (3-2) were playing without a number of starters — including their entire midfield.
After playing Westfield on Tuesday, the Statesmen were scheduled to play their final game in the tournament on Wednesday against Chantilly. The Spartans, meanwhile, were set to play Osbourn on Tuesday and Westfield on Wednesday.
In Monday's first game, Chantilly defeated Osbourn, 5-0. Then, following the Marshall-West Springfield game, Langley defeated previously-undefeated Westfield, 3-2. The Saxons were scheduled to play next on Tuesday against Chantilly, then on Wednesday against Osbourn.