All victories feel good, but some simply feel even better.

Episcopal Academy girls’ soccer coach Ben Wilson admitted as much following the Churchmen’s thorough 5-1, Inter-Academic League win over visiting Notre Dame on a sunny, lovely Tuesday afternoon.

“Total team effort,” said Wilson. “You want every phase of your game to be working, and that’s what happened today.”

Wilson’s objective is to play everyone on the varsity roster. Against the Irish, he got his wish.

Except for an early blip in the second half, the Churchmen (6-2-1 overall, 3-0 Inter-Ac) controlled play for almost the entire contest.

Taking the “team contribution” mantra to a new level, five different players scored goals. Two (Anna Salvucci and Olivia Dirks) were freshmen; two (Lilly Shaner and Molly O’Brian) were juniors; one (Julia Hondros) was a senior.

   Talk about balance . . .

“One of the great things about this team is that no one cares what year you are or how much you play,” said Dirks, whose fourth goal of the season was arguably EA’s most important contribution because it turned a tight 2-1 edge into a much more relaxed 3-1 advantage. “We have a strong bond."

“From the beginning, the upperclassmen have been very welcoming, and that makes a big difference. Everyone plays intense, but it’s still a lot of fun.”

Fellow freshman, Salvucci, opened the scoring in the first half and later, midway through the second half, almost scored again but was fouled and granted a penalty kick.

Displaying an amazingly unselfish attitude, Salvucci allowed O’Brian to take the kick.

“It’s no big deal, I knew she would score,” Salvucci said. “Just sharin’ the wealth.”

O’Brian took full advantage of what amounted to a gift. After seeing her line drive shot meet twine, O’Brian was able to release some vent-up frustration stemming from having two would-be goals disallowed because of questionable offside calls – once in EA’s most recent game against Baldwin, and again two minutes into the contest versus Notre Dame.

“That was really nice of (Salvucci),” said O’Brian. “It doesn’t surprise me, though. We always have a great team effort. Just look at today. Five different scorers . . . that’s the sign of a very good team.”

Episcopal’s most memorable goal was its last.

After three varsity seasons, Hondros electrified the Episcopal sideline when she booted the first goal of her career. Well, technically her second, but the other one – in EA’s aforementioned meeting against Baldwin – actually was a fluke as it somehow bounced off an opponent’s head and into the net.

“To me, the other one didn’t really count because it was an accident,” said a still-smiling Hondros. “This one meant a lot to me. I put the ball over the goalie’s head. That’s a real goal. I’m so glad it finally happened. I was really excited. I immediately went over and hugged Lilly (Shaner), and she hugged me right back.”

Shaner had already scored, a perfectly executed redirection of a corner kick by O’Brian that made it 2-0.

“It was nice to give us some breathing room,” said Shaner. “You can try some new things without having to play it overly safe. You can be more creative.”

Shaner said she wasn’t worried when Notre Dame cut its deficit in half on a nifty goal by University of Virginia-bound senior Phoebe McClernon, a tri-captain along with classmates Claire Nappi and Lexie Odgers. 

“It was just time for someone to step up,” Shaner said. “We have all kinds of players who rise to the occasion.”

Notre Dame Academy would undoubtedly agree about that.

(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com.)