Under the early September breeze, the King’s Fork Lady Bulldogs stayed as cool as the weather in their late-game win versus Indian River on Wednesday afternoon.

In a game that was mostly a stalemate, Kumiko Lippold came with the heroics, scoring with five minutes left, just in time to save the Lady Bulldogs from an 0-2 start. Jennifer Delucia was accredited with the assist.

“Jenn was actually in as a sub,” said head coach Molly Turner of the goal, “but they did great and I’m proud of them.”

The game was evenly matched from the start, with both teams playing stellar defense.

For most of the first half, the ball was stuck in midfield with both teams trying to gain an advantage.

The second half was much different for the Lady Bulldogs. They came out aggressive and within two minutes they thought they had a goal, but the goal was negated for an obstruction call.

It was the first of many chances to score for the Lady Bulldogs in the second half, though they were only able to capitalize on one. KF attempted eight shots on goal and didn’t allow any from the Lady Braves.

Another close miss came midway through the half when the King’s Fork missed on a corner play.

A blow to the Lady Bulldogs’ morale came shortly after that, after they missed a penalty shot after the Indian River goalie held the ball after blocking a shot.

King’s Fork’s perseverance eventually paid off though. Lippold scored her goal with five minutes to spare after Delucia came out of a tangle with the ball and passed to Lippold for the go-ahead goal.

The Lady Bulldogs managed to keep Indian River pinned in their own half of the field for the remainder of the game to hold on to the 1-0 victory.

King’s Fork (1-1, 1-1) faced Churchland in a rescheduled match on Thursday afternoon. Next up for the Lady Bulldogs is a district and city-rivalry game at Nansemond River on Wednesday at 5 p.m.