Having seen teammate Yanelli Garcia ring not one but two shots off Bayfield reserve goalie Mattie Moore’s near post during the second half, Del Norte freshman Emely Gurrola finally got the guests on the scoreboard with a 79th-minute shot through traffic.

And though BHS still won Monday afternoon’s match comfortably, 8-1, the fact that the Lady Tigers spoiled a possible shutout for the second time in three days told head coach Chris Zoltowski that even though his Lady Wolverines had just booked a fourth consecutive victory, there’s still work to do.

“I feel we still need to work on a little bit of ‘cover’ on defense; it’s something we addressed at halftime and again after the game,” he said. “But I think going forward we’re going to be pretty solid.”

“You know, after playing a few tough teams and starting out 0-and-2, it’s coming around,” Zoltowski said. “But I think now they’re starting to see how well they can play together; the chemistry’s finally coming.”

“There’s a lot of new girls who’ve just started, and they’re doing awesome,” said freshman Sydney Rey. “We’ve all been super-confident … and very consistent. I’m super proud of everyone.”

Having led 3-0 at halftime of their Saturday meeting, en route to a 7-1 road win blemished only by a goal by Lady Tiger junior Samara Mejia – who later injured her knee and was scratched for Monday’s rematch – Bayfield denied DNHS so much as an off-target shot until junior Arielle Atencio put a 28th-minute free kick on net.

Meanwhile, the Lady Wolverines (4-2, 1-1 3A Southwestern) quickly took command as the senior Moore, an attacker during the first half before replacing senior starter Annie Fusco in goal after intermission, beat Del Norte senior Kelsie Dahle in the third minute. Moore struck again in the seventh off an Emaliah Sawyer assist, and sophomore Preslie Wagner increased the lead to 3-0 off a 25th-minute throw-in.

Moore would more or less sprint to additional goals in the 32nd and 34th minutes, but halftime began on a quieted note after Garcia was shaken up in a hard collision with BHS’ Brylee Sampley.

Rey brought the home side’s energy back up in the 44th with a successful chip over a drawn-out Dahle for a 6-0 lead.

“Since she looked like she was going a little low, a simple over-the-keeper would work pretty well,” said Rey. “I’ve practiced it a lot; it’s one of my favorite things to do.”

Senior Jamaica Garza then blasted in a long 55th-minute free kick for BHS’ seventh goal – and her third such strike since cashing one to defeat nonleague 3A James Irwin Charter 2-1, April 2.

“She’s becoming so confident and strong in that,” Zoltowski said. “Just brings another weapon to the team. We love it.”

Fusco would cap the Lady Wolverines’ scoring in the 59th, running onto a perfectly threaded through-ball from Sawyer and sliding a low shot to Dahle’s right.

“We were trying to do more passing sequences, and not just trying to break through the line. Simple 1-2’s, stuff like that,” Rey said. “Just making sure everything was super technical and not just trying to have one person do the whole entire thing – making sure everyone gets included.”

Unofficially, Moore needed to make two saves and Fusco none. Dahle stopped 10 of 18 shots on goal, but Del Norte dropped to 0-7 (0-3 2A SWL) overall.

Bayfield, meanwhile, will next travel to Ignacio for a 4 p.m. kickoff Wednesday. The Lady Bobcats (1-5, 1-4 2A SWL) will be coming in off yet another improved effort, a 5-1 loss Saturday at Ridgway (3-4, 2-2 2A SWL) in which junior Harmony Reynolds, off an Alexis Ortiz assist, denied the Lady Demons a shutout.

BHS will then host Montezuma-Cortez on Friday, looking to atone for a season-opening 3-1 loss at M-CHS.

“Both these games are super important,” Rey said. “Ignacio, I’m super-excited to play them; I feel it’s going to be good. Cortez … I feel it’s a good time to redeem ourselves. We’ve all been working our butts off and making sure everyone’s ready.”

In the Lady Wolverines’ 7-1 win at DNHS on Saturday, Zoltowski reported that Rey and Wagner each netted three goals, while Moore scored one and also logged three assists.

“We actually found Mattie a ‘home,’” joked Zoltowski. “This is great because now we have a stronger attack.”