By RYAN ARENA
Sports Editor

St. Charles is off to one of the best starts in its program’s history, and Coach Don Peyton had one message to commemorate that before his Comets opened district play against Riverside.

Forget it all.

The beginning of district play means it’s a new season for the Comets, and St. Charles seems to understand that clearly. Its performance Thursday is evidence of that, as it captured a 9-0 win over the Rebels in Reserve.

“I told them, ‘If you want to win district, you know what you have to do,’” said Peyton. “Everything we did before this, it doesn’t make a difference. It’s basically the preseason.”

Reyna Lubin scored four goals to lead the Comets (10-3-2). Five others – Brittni Landry, Clarissa Guidry, Emily Bourgeois, Brooke Carmouche and Kristen Carrier – also scored to lift SCC to victory.

St. Charles led 5-0 at halftime.

Riverside leading scorer Heidi Garcich missed the match due to injury. That meant that Riverside would have to rely on its defense to keep things close.

With Lubin on the field, that’s always a difficult proposition.

“They stacked the middle of the field,” said Peyton. “But with Reyna, if we can get a through ball, it’s off to the races a lot of times. Really, the whole team played very well.”

The teams will face off again on Jan 22 at St. Charles.

“The girls all know each other. It’s a rivalry, but that can be fun too for them,” Peyton said. “(Riverside Coach Stephen Millet) has a good bunch of girls there. He’s teaching them the game, and they give 100%.”