Nobody is breaking news when they say Benidle-St. Margaret's has a young squad this year.

What might be a bit shocking is how well the Red Knights have played through their first five games of the season. The experience nine current sophomores gained last season in a run to the section finals has proved invaluable already this year.

"We had a lot of young players that played big games for us last year," Benilde-St. Margaret's coach Ana Bowlsby said. "Right now, they are our veterans."

The Red Knights' defense has played like a mature, cohesive group and was led by sophomore goalie Anna DeGiulio in Friday night's 9-6 victory against No. 6-ranked Robbinsdale Armstrong at Benidle-St. Margaret's.

"Our goalie has been outstanding," Bowlsby said. "She was great again today."

"I've felt pretty confidence all year," DeGiulio said. "I think a lot of it has carried over from a strong end to last season."

The Red Knights' defense overall has been strong, and it was even more evident against the Falcons on Friday.

Benilde-St. Margaret's trailed 4-3 at halftime, but stormed out with three straight goals in the second half. Once they had the lead, the Red Knights locked down even more on defense and held Robbinsdale Armstorng to only two more goals. Armstrong's six goals is its lowest single-game total of the season.

"We adjusted really well in the second half and learned some things, because Armstrong did some things that we haven't seen yet," Bowlsby said. "I was really happy with how we played in the second, and again, our goalie was just outstanding."

"I thought we were more physical and didn't let them move as much," DeGiulio said. "They are a talented team, and we can't let them move around, and I think we did a great job with that."

Friday night's performance has just been the norm for Benilde-St. Margaret's. Through six games it has a goals-against-average, of 3.67 and DeGiulio's .658 save-percentage is second in the state to Forest Lake's Johanna Haseltine.

"It's been a great part of our game so far," Bowlsby said. "We have a lot of multi-sport athletes, which I think helps, and we are really competitive back there."


Benilde-St. Margaret's goalie Anna DeGiulio makes the save in a 9-6 win over Armstrong. Photo by Rick Orndorf

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