Shut-down performance against Lutheran gives Port girls their first North Shore soccer victory since 2007

A long soccer drought ended last week for the Port Washington High School girls’ soccer team.

Make that, an ultra-dry drought.

With a 2-0 road win over Milwaukee Lutheran on April 25, the Pirates had their first North Shore Conference victory since 2007 — ending a 37-game losing streak.

“It was a long time in coming,” said Port coach Mike Bultman, who noted that most of his players are too young to remember anything about the team’s previous league win.

“There haven’t been a lot of wins in the last six or seven years, and we (the coaches) told the girls to enjoy this one. They made some history.”

By breaking through in their 2013 conference opener, the Pirates continued to show progress in their most recent rebuilding effort. They are in their second year with Bultman at the varsity helm.

The Pirates dominated Lutheran, piling up a 32-9 advantage in shots and collecting a goal in each half.

Port got the only goal it needed just 90 seconds into the game. Freshman Sarah Spaeth did the honors with an assist from Abby Becker.

“After that, we just tried to beat their goalkeeper the rest of the first half instead of moving the ball,” Bultman said. “It didn’t work.”

With the wind at their backs in the second half, the Pirates kept the pressure on Lutheran’s defense. Their 23-shot barrage in the second half included an insurance goal in the 63rd minute by freshman Brooke Effinger, assisted by Becker.