It was wet, muddy and windy. The temperature hovered in the low 40s.

In other words, it was a perfect night for soccer in Mississippi.

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Riley Griffith and Dayton Gamble each scored two goals, Marie Booth added another goal and an assist as St. Aloysius routed Richland 5-0 on a cold, blustery Tuesday night at Balzli Field.

“You feel it the first five minutes or so, but once you warm up it’s hot,” Gamble said. “We always play better in the cold. It’s a little harder to breathe, that’s it.”

The Lady Flashes haven’t had any trouble this chilly December. Tuesday’s win was their third in four games, and improved their record to 3-0-1. They’ve only allowed one goal this season, and will finish a nearly flawless first half of the season on Friday night at Crystal Springs.

“We’re playing both ends well. The defense is keeping it out of the back, and the offense is keeping it up front. And our goalkeepers are playing really well,” St. Al coach Keiko Booth said.

St. Al had little trouble disposing of Richland (2-4). Griffith scored both of her goals in the first half to stake the Lady Flashes to a 2-0 halftime lead. Booth scored early in the second half, and Gamble got her goals in a seven-minute span midway through.

St. Al controlled the action most of the game and was never threatened over the final 40 minutes.

“We did better in the center. We used our outside players and learned to pass,” Gamble said. “We only beat them 2-0 last time, so we’re getting better.”

(B) Richland 4, St. Al 1

For most of the first half, St. Aloysius was able to keep Tuesday’s game with Richland close. In very short order, the Rangers took care of that.

Trey Miles scored in the last minute of the first half, then Richland added two more goals in the first five minutes of the second and went on to an easy win over St. Al.

Miles finished with two goals and an assist, while Johnathan Faler and Drew Gallagher each scored once for Richland (5-3). Faler also had an assist.

Miles forced a turnover, then beat St. Al keeper Carlton Campbell from 25 yards away to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead just before halftime. Two minutes into the second half Faler fed a cross to Miles, who scored again to make it 3-0. Gallagher added another goal 2 1/2 minutes later to make it a four-goal game.

Michael Stewart had the only goal for St. Al (0-4), which was dominated most of the night. It had only two shots in each half and was outshot 13-4 for the game. Campbell did make six saves, but by the time Stewart scored with 10 minutes to play, the outcome was long decided.

“There was some simple mistakes that were avoidable,but we’re trying to work through them,” St. Al coach Jason Hopkins said. “The main thing is, we’re struggling and not attacking that third of the field.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com