MILLBURY — Savannah Little’s first-half goal provided the winning margin on Wednesday as the Lake girls soccer team pitched its second consecutive shutout to open the campaign in a 1-0 win over Genoa.

“I think going into this season, they were nervous with a new coach, a new style of play and new formation,” Lake head coach Lauren Colangelo said. “After this, I think they not only believe in me and the process, but they also believe in themselves.

“I think it’s a huge step in the right direction.”

Little, who moved to forward this year after spending her rookie campaign at defender, notched her fourth goal in two games.

The multi-sport star pushed the ball up field nearly 20 yards before striking a 15-yard shot with her left foot, sending it into the right corner of the goal with 6:20 left in the first half.

“(With her being a defender last year), I don’t think a lot of the schools we play think of her as a forward,” Colangelo said. “But we lost Bri (Braatz), and we needed someone with some speed up there.

“I asked her if she wanted to do it, and she was up to the task. She performed both games. I couldn’t ask for anything more. She just keeps growing.”

Genoa kept the pressure on the Flyers, especially in the second half. Lake’s senior goalkeeper, Lauren Tobias, made one of the plays of the game for the Flyer defense, jumping to deflect a direct kick up and over the net with 22 minutes left.

“I think they worked their butts off, and that’s all I told them to do,” Colangelo said. “Go out and no matter the outcome, if they can say they worked hard for the full 80 minutes, I was going to be proud of them, and I think they surpassed that.”

The attempt, which came on a shot from the left to right, came just after Lake was whistled for a foul a few feet outside the penalty box. Moments later, Tobias dove forward to the ground to corral another dangerous opportunity for Genoa.

“I think going into it, we were all a little anxious,” Tobias said. “This is the one game we really wanted to win. Out of all of them, this is the main one. It was just a good win.

“We really connected with passes. We took the ball up and looked forward instead of backwards. We trusted each other.”

Tobias finished the game with three saves.

Lake, which is 2-0 on the season heading into Saturday’s road match at Lima Shawnee, has outscored its opponents 13-0 this season.

“I got goosebumps talking about it,” Colangelo said of her team’s defense. “They were incredible. It’s led by two seniors in the middle in Lauren and Adeana (Cowell), and the two outside backs. They have been playing amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything more out of them.

“We told them that midfield was going to be a key component to winning the game. They’re not used to this formation, not used to playing with those people, and I think they really stepped up today.”