歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI -- Rightfully so, Peyton Oelrich said she felt pretty confident on Tuesday night.

鈥淢y confidence is pretty high,鈥� Oelrich said. 鈥淲ith the first (goal), the confidence goes straight up. It just helps me realize that I can score more than once a game. It shows that the team is helping not only me score, but other people score, too. We are capable of scoring lots of goals.鈥�

Oelrich scored five goals for the Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 girls soccer team, spearheading an 8-0 win over Hillcrest Lutheran Academy in the Section 8A Tournament opener inside Chet Anderson Stadium.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way to be during sections,鈥� BHS head coach Logan Larsen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not how you start, it鈥檚 how you finish, and I think she鈥檚 finishing right where we need her to for us to succeed. She did a good job of recognizing their style of defense and how to react. Second half, especially, being willing to turn with the ball and attack head on, to find the space and shoot.鈥�

Oelrich had just three goals on the year entering the postseason, but she is now the first Lumberjack to net five in one game since Josie Spry did so in 2010. Spry scored five times on Oct. 12, 2010, while Oelrich mirrored the feat against the same opponent in the same round of the Section 8A Tournament -- and nearly on the same day.

鈥淚t鈥檚 super exciting,鈥� Oelrich said. 鈥淭he first hat trick I got was sophomore year, so it just brings back those memories. 鈥� Every goal worked out, how I was there at the right time at the right place.鈥�

And that rang true throughout the night. There were no greedy goals to be found, but rather they came as a result of Oelrich鈥檚 activity on the field and a finishing touch off her teammates鈥� passes.

鈥淚t was the right connections, it was the right timing,鈥� Larsen said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 her attacking an entire backline. It was an entire team effort to make her goals happen.鈥�

Addy Kelly first stamped her name on the scoresheet. The junior midfielder scored her first career goal with an unassisted strike from distance in the seventh minute.

And then the Oelrich avalanche rumbled to life.

Her first goal came in the 11th minute, when Emma Wright set her up for an easy flick at the doorstep. The 2-0 lead held for the next 20 minutes, but Oelrich snuck in two more before halftime.

Her second goal was an unassisted gift, as the defense miscleared a ball, and it ultimately dropped into Oelrich鈥檚 lap for the easy brace. And just over three minutes later, Oelrich got behind the defense on a lead pass from Wright, finishing the job for the hat trick in the 35th minute.

Oelrich wasn鈥檛 satisfied, though. Just 33 seconds into the second half, Miah Stone assisted Oelrich on her fourth goal of the game. Wright finally finished one off herself, as well, as her pinpoint accuracy to the top corner turned a Sophie Morin pass into a 6-0 lead in the 52nd minute.

Kate Martin added another goal in the 69th minute, and for her fifth, Oelrich cleaned up a rebound in the 74th minute for a feat that the Lumberjacks hadn鈥檛 seen in a decade.

鈥淚鈥檓 very happy with how the team worked tonight,鈥� Oelrich said. 鈥淲e kept the intensity up. Having everyone show up to the field and ready to go, even though we know we have a big game Thursday, we still were working hard.鈥�

Bemidji improves to 7-3-2 and will now visit top-seeded East Grand Forks for a 7 p.m. showdown on Thursday, Oct. 15, in the quarterfinals. BHS beat the Green Wave 3-1 at home on Oct. 8.

鈥淲e certainly have the video to see how they play,鈥� Larsen said. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檒l play the same way, but I think we know how to get even better than we previously did.鈥�

No. 4 Bemidji 8, No. 5 Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 0

HLA 0 0 -- 0

BHS 4 4 -- 8

First half -- 1, BHS GOAL, Kelly (unassisted), 7鈥�; 2, BHS GOAL, Oelrich (Wright), 11鈥�; 3, BHS GOAL, Oelrich (unassisted), 32鈥�; 4, BHS GOAL, Oelrich (Wright), 35鈥�.

Second half -- 5, BHS GOAL, Oelrich (Stone), 41鈥�; 6, BHS GOAL, Wright (Morin), 52鈥�; 7, BHS GOAL, Martin (Aitken), 69鈥�; 8, BHS GOAL, Oelrich (Morin), 74鈥�.

Saves -- Nelson (BHS) 0; Pemberton (BHS) 1; Marfell (HLA) 10; Baker (HLA) 4.

1/5: Bemidji junior Sydney Breyen (9) runs with he ball in the Section 8A Tournament opener against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Tuesday at Chet Anderson Stadium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

2/5: Bemidji senior Liberty Dickerson (2) battles for ball possession in the Section 8A Tournament opener against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Tuesday at Chet Anderson Stadium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

3/5: Lumberjack senior Sophie Morin (14) passes the ball in the Section 8A Tournament opener against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Tuesday at Chet Anderson Stadium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

4/5: The Lumberjacks celebrate a goal in the first half of the Section 8A Tournament opener against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Tuesday at Chet Anderson Stadium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

5/5: Bemidji junior Addy Kelly (13) shoots for her first career goal in the Section 8A Tournament opener against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Tuesday at Chet Anderson Stadium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)