The Bellingham girls' soccer team was the first to defeat and score on Meridian in a 2-0 Northwest Conference victory on Thursday, Sept. 20, at Meridian.

"You never like losing," Meridian coach Andrea Ames said in a phone interview. "The girls played tough and we have improved against them each year, but no one likes losing."

Bellingham had goals from Sydney Wright and Cashel Vincent.

"They realized that they're human just like everyone else," Ames said. "In some ways it is a monkey off our back and now we can move forward. We have shown we can score lots of goals, now we just need to come back and show we are competitive against La Conner."

Hannah Jacobus had the shutout for the Red Raiders.

Bellingham improves to 4-2-1, 4-0-0 NWC and will host Squalicum on Saturday, Sept. 22, while Meridian (4-1-1, 3-1-0 NWC) will travel to La Conner.

BELLINGHAM 2, MERIDIAN 0

Scoring: Goal: Sydney Wright (Bellingham), assist: Brooke Baker, time: 21:00; Goal: Cashel Vincent (Bellingham), assist: Larkyn Nelson, time: 55:00.