AHOSKIE – Hertford County earned their first win of the season with a 5-0 win over SouthWest Edgecombe here Thursday afternoon.

The Lady Bears, coming off a disappointing loss to Northeastern the day before, dominated play from the start.

It took a mere 30 seconds before Hertford County striker Brittany Hignite found the back of the net.

Hignite’s shot from approximately 25 yards out narrowly missed the top post and gave the Lady Bears the early 1-0 advantage.

The Cougars were clearly stunned by the quick goal and attempted to regroup defensively.

The visitor’s effort paid off as they thwarted numerous HCHS scoring attempts for the remainder of the half.

The Cougars were unable to take advantage however as the Lady Bears continued to dictate play, effectively limiting all scoring opportunities by the visitors.

As a result the first half ended with Hertford County on top 1-0.

The second half began much like the first with the Lady Bears coming out very aggressive.

This time it took just four minutes before Hignite netted to increase her team’s lead to 2-0.

The forward’s shot to the lower left corner of goal not only extended the lead, but seemed to re-energize a tired Hertford County squad.

The Lady Bears kept up the pressure and it didn’t take long before they again found the back of the net.

This time it was Ally Rushing who, after taking a free kick redirected the goalkeeper’s deflection into goal.

Rushing’s goal, just 13 minutes into second half play increased the Hertford County lead to 3-nill.

Rushing was not done, however as she again found the back of the net, this time off a booming kick from about six yards out.

The shot extended the Hertford County advantage to 4-0.

Five minutes later Lyndsay Burns won a footrace to the ball after a long clearout and found herself one-on-one with the Cougars goalkeeper.

Burns sealed the victory when she netted for the fifth and final goal of the match.

&uot;Everyone did excellent today, we had players like Kiara Newsome who normally don’t play that much step up and play huge,&uot; Lady Bears head coach Carol Swain said.

&uot;They communicated well and played with a lot of energy.

&uot;We made some position changes that helped us but most of our success came from playing with heart and hustle&uot; she added.