All season long, St. Ursula soccer coach Steve Dorr has been telling his girls to use their heads. He wasn't surprised when they did just that — literally — in the team's 2-0 DivisionI regional final victory over Lakota West at West Carrollton.

        Midfielders Dani Patton and Audra Mathews scored both Bulldogs goals off headers, handing Lakota West its first loss and snapping its six-game winning streak.

        “You don't see two headers for goals in one game too often, but we've been dangerous lately,” Dorr said. “We've spent a lot of time attacking in the penalty box.”

        The Bulldogs kept Lakota West goalkeeper Stephanie Comisar on her toes as she had 10 saves. Prior the regional final, only six players had scored against her.

        Patton was the seventh, knocking the ball to the left side of the net off a Katie Hambleton assist 5:23 into the game.

        Mathews said her nudge off Jenna Owens' corner kick with 4:10 to play was not only icing on the win but also the biggest surprise of the day.

        “I'm usually the one taking the corner kicks. And I'm pretty small,” the 5-foot-1 sophomore said. “But I slipped into the far right post and put it in.”

        St. Ursula sophomore goalkeeper Emily Barnes had six saves en route to her 16th shutout of the season.

        Lakota West coach Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff said a flat start, plus the Bulldogs' stifling defense, put her team in a position it had not encountered in its 17-1-2 season.

        “They were strong, fast and physical. We started off slow and turned it up, but sometimes it's just too late,” she said.

        The Bulldogs (18-2-1) face Dublin Coffman in the state semifinals Wednesday at West Carrollton.

        Dorr hopes his girls can stay focused Wednesday night.

        “When the season started, we had a lot of kids returning and no star players. We still don't,” he said. “It's just a matter of whether we can be consistent or not.”

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