BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood girls’ varsity soccer team currently sits atop the region leaderboard with a 5-0 record following wins over West Florence and Sumter.

After a high-tension shootout win over West Florence last Friday, the Bengals returned Tuesday to dismantle Sumter in an 8-0 shutout.

Blythewood faced one of its toughest challenges of the early season at home against West Florence on March 20. The Bengals jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first half, courtesy of goals from seniors Tessa Coker and Mia Hendry. The Knights battled back in the second half with two goals to force the game into a stalemate.

A scoreless overtime sent the match to a shootout. Senior goalkeeper Chyna Bush proved to be the difference-maker, tallying seven saves in the match to help Blythewood secure a 3-2 victory on penalties in the shootout.

Friday’s shootout drama was subbed for dominance on Tuesday as the Bengals pounded Sumter for a 8-0 win.

The junior-senior duo of Regan Flynn and Mia Hendry both recorded hat tricks. Josie Woodley and Autumn Pegrum added goals to round out the scoring. Sophomore Lily Ballard racked up a team-high three assists. Hendry also added two assists to her six-point night, while Flynn and freshman Karoline Sinei each contributed one. In goal, freshman Milan Nalls handled the clean sheet, playing all 80 minutes to keep the Gamecocks off the board.

At 6-2 overall, the pieces seem to be in place for the Bengals as they enter the mid-season stretch.

Blythewood steps out of conference play on  Friday for a road test at Gray Collegiate Academy (8-2-1). They will return to region action on March 31 at Ridge View, then will  host cross-town rival Westwood on April 3.