Area teams win I-55 openers

All three area schools defeated their St. Louis opponents Friday on the first day of the round-robin I-55 Tournament at Notre Dame Regional High School.

Notre Dame continued its winning ways with a 3-0 win over Bishop DuBourg; Jackson rolled past Wentzville Holt 5-0; and Central picked up a 4-2 victory over Parkway West. In the fourth game, Poplar Bluff and Northwest battled to a 2-2 tie.

Notre Dame (15-1-1) got goals from Sierra Ellis, Kristen Boos and Allison Essner. Lauren Mehner, Amanda Dirnberger and Megan Holloway picked up assists. Katie Palmer made four saves for the shutout.

Jackson (14-2-1) received two goals from Molly Hartmann and one apiece from Kt Biri, Whitney Dietl and Katie Domian. Whitney Werner recorded the shutout.

Central (8-9) broke a 2-2 halftime tie with second-half goals by Heidi Pilsner and Stephanie White. Megan McDonald scored nine minutes into the contest with an assist by Julie Underwood, but Parkway West (11-5-2) moved ahead 2-1. Pilsner scored the game-tying goal at the 32-minute mark on an assist by Megan Richards. In the second half, Pilsner scored unassisted at the 65-minute mark and White added a goal in the 78th minute off a pass from Merritt Gerlach.

Each team plays two more games today with the South division teams from Southeast Missouri again pairing off against the North teams from the St. Louis area.