The Chesterton girls soccer team battled some of the state’s best teams and prove they belong in that company at the South Bend St. Joseph’s Invitational over the weekend.

The No. 10 Trojans opened the tournament on Friday with a 1-0 victory over Evansville Reitz.

Chesterton used the midfield group of Elizabeth Benson, Madisyn Coudriet, Bethany Molnar, Kristen Mabry and Tia Peters to get multiple shots on goal early in the contest.

Finally in the second half, Molnar found Bridget Brendza for the game’s lone goal.

Saturday morning, the Trojans dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 1 Carmel. Down 1-0 at the half, the Trojan threatened, but gave up three late goals to set the final score.

The final match of the day on Saturday resulted in a 2-0 victory against Mishawaka Marian.

Brendza again got loose in the box and put the Trojans on top 1-0 at halftime. From there, Sara Tumbas drove a free kick in the second half into the box that found Brendza’s head for a 2-0 lead.

Chesterton is 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in Duneland Athletic Conference play. They return to the field on Tuesday when they travel to Valparaiso to face the Vikings.

The JV match is slated for a 5 p.m. start.

Posted 8/20/2012