A goal in the 67th minute cost Bethlehem Catholic an even game to that point when Allentown Central Catholic freshman forward Dee McMullen scored on an assist by Josslin Muto to win the match, 1-0, last Friday at Becahi.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Bethlehem Catholic girls soccer head coach Brad Kratzer. “It’s just little mistakes. We just have to clean up little mistakes. We just have to expose the wide areas, and we didn’t do that very well.”

The Vikettes had 15 shots on goal, and Becahi goalie Gabby Amato made nine saves. Olivia Shiffert, who replaced Amato for a few minutes in the first half after Amato was elbowed in the head, made one save.

“We like to press a lot which generally generates a bunch of shots,” said Central head coach Rob Spatzer. “They’re not always going to be quality shots, necessarily, but we did feel like our spacing was a little bit off. We talked at halftime about spacing a little better so we could get better shots off.”

The Hawks also discussed spacing at halftime.

“They took away the middle of the field. We tried to move some players wider,” Kratzer said. “It worked and then the girls were playing slightly out of position so they didn’t feel 100 percent comfortable. They went back to their natural positions, and then we were back in the same boat.”

McMullen’s goal was the first of her high school career.

“It was really exciting,” she said. “I knew the goalie was coming near post so I looked far post, and I was trying to keep it low on the ground so I wouldn’t hit over.”

McMullen’s goal went to the far left corner.

“Dee’s pretty consistent with running in far post, so I knew to get a good cross, and she was there,” said Muto. “It was awesome. She plays so hard every game, and it was a great finish on her part.”

The Vikettes were determined to tally more, but Amato knocked down two shots by Meredith Eisenmann after the Central midfielder went one-on-one with Amato but kicked it wide.

“One of the things we struggle with is scoring,” said Spatzer. “We’ve dominated possession but it hasn’t always generated goals, so we’re hoping with repetition the goals will start to come.”

Beca is having its struggles too, having been on the wrong side of several close games.

“We have to start working on more control around the box,” Coach Kratzer said. “We just have to control the final third.”

The Hawks had four shots on goal, and Central keeper Armani Brickhouse made three saves.