By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC – River Valley captured the Dowagiac Early Bird Soccer Tournament on Saturday with a pair of victories.
The Lady Mustangs (6-1) avenged an earlier loss to Niles in the second game of the tournament as they defeated the Lady Vikings, 3-0.
River Valley then claimed the round robin tournament championship with a 4-0 victory over the host Chieftains.
Dowagiac dropped a 3-2 decision to Niles in the opening match of the event.
In the championship match, River Valley got goals from Kali Lauzon, Amanda Dudiak and Megan Kehoe.
Jordan Cronin posted a shutout in goal for the Lady Mustangs in both matches.
Against Dowagiac, Lauzon scored three of River Valley's goals. Dudiak had the other goal for the Lady Mustangs.
Dowagiac led 1-0 in the first and 2-1 in the second half before falling to Niles.
The Chieftains, playing in their first match of the season, got a goal from Stephanie Barnas in the 14th minute to give Dowagiac the lead.
Niles tied the match at 1-1 late in the first half.
Barnas staked Dowagiac to a 2-1 lead with a goal in the 50th minute.
Niles tallied twice in the final 15 minutes of the match to pull out the victory.
"We played well, especially for our first day of play," Dowagiac coach Mike Williams said. "We made minor mistakes that had an impact on the outcomes. All three teams played well and were great sports. We are looking forward to next week's games and expect to show improvement everyday."
Dowagiac is back in action on Wednesday, when it opens up Wolverine Conference play against visiting Three Rivers.
The junior varsity squad, which will host Granger Christian (Ind.) today at 5 p.m., will get things started against Three Rivers at 4 p.m. The varsity match is slated for 5:45.
Dowagiac will also host Bridgman in a non-conference match on Friday. The varsity-only match is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.