MONMOUTH — Lakyn Hink scored twice in the first half Thursday to help ninth-seeded Sacopee Valley to a 3-1 girls’ soccer win over top-seeded Monmouth Academy in the Class C South quarterfinals.

The Hawks applied pressure from the start, beating the Mustangs to seemingly every loose ball, creating opportunity after opportunity at the net.

“Early on, we got them to sit back a little bit and we peppered their defense and their goalie,” said Sacopee Valley Coach Brian Hink. “That’s when we got things going and the girls were working off the ball. And then we got those two quick goals that really kind of sailed us to halftime.”

On the first goal, a deflected ball in the penalty box came to Hink for an easy goal seven minutes into the game.

Sacopee Valley (10-6) had multiple chances to add to its lead 11 minutes later when two shots hit the post and another went over the crossbar.

The Hawks made it 2-0 five minutes later, as Hink scored again off a low cross from Brenna Humphrey.

“It felt really good,” Lakyn Hink said. “We were doing really well with our passing and we were going to the ball, which helped a lot, and we were being very aggressive.”

Monmouth Academy (13-2) had only two shots in the first half. One of those was a free kick from Audrey Fletcher that was saved by keeper Kylie Day, one of her seven saves.

For Monmouth Coach Gary Trafton, Sacopee Valley’s skill was evident even before the match.

“Playoffs are a whole different breed than the regular season,” Trafton said. “They played tough against Madison. They battled, and we knew they would be tough today.”

Five minutes into the second half, Monmouth forward Abbie Crawford had the team’s best scoring chance when she stole the ball from a defender and broke away, but she shot the ball just wide of the far post.

The Hawks kept the pressure on the Mustangs, even with a two-goal lead.

“I kept telling the girls to keep the pressure and keep trying to force them to sit back and wait for us to come at them,” Brian Hink said. “They had more offensive opportunities than I wanted them to get, but my girls stepped up today and they did everything we worked on all week.”

With 18 minutes remaining, Monmouth’s Alicen Burnham drove down the right side and crossed to teammate Megan Ham in front and to the left side of the net. Ham passed a high ball to Crawford, who ripped it into the net.

“They just beat us to the ball in the first half,” Trafton said. “They were hungry and aggressive, and when you don’t get to the ball you can’t make any passes.

“You can’t move on in the playoffs without getting to the ball. Second half we played a lot better and had more opportunities.”

Allie Black scored off a pass from Lindsey Hendricks with four minutes remaining to cement the win.