Springfield, Vt. — There were four reasons the Hartford High girls soccer team was a 1-0 winner on Tuesday in a Marble Valley League game at Brown Memorial Field. Three of the reasons make sense; the fourth … maybe.

The first thing that made sense was the Hurricanes’ midfield transition play that turned away the Springfield offense and limited the Cosmos to just three shots on goal. The second item was the play of the Hurricane defenders, led by junior center back Makenna Druge, who took away most of what offensive challenges the Cosmos had. Hartford coach Jeff Acker called Druge the No. 1 star of day.

The third reason was the play of sophomore goalkeeper Kaylyn Bills, who smothered a loose ball following a Springfield corner kick late in the second half to prevent a Cosmos goal.

However, while Acker could make sense (with a smile) of the most important aspect of the game — the goal — the girl who made the shot was not so sure.

A soccer player usually cannot come down the left wing and curl a shot into the goal with her right foot. But that’s what surprised senior Jasmine Wilson did with a ball that eluded the Springfield keeper and went in.

The game was 26 minutes into the first half when Wilson had the ball inside the midfield stripe and dribbled straight down the left wing.

Maybe leaning a bit to her right, Wilson shot with her right foot and the ball skidded off the ground, took a funny hop and beat the netminder.

So why didn’t Wilson use her left foot on a play that called for left-footed shot?

“I’m lousy with my left foot,” she said with a big grin. “I guess I was lucky.”

Acker, also realizing that perhaps lucky is better than good sometimes, defended his goal scorer, saying she was turning to her right and “got off a nice one-touch ball.”

When Acker was asked what he was doing with a girl without a good left foot playing left wing, he said, again smiling, “All I’ve got is right-foot shooters.”

Acker and the Hurricanes were in a good mood on a dreary day.

“This was our third straight shutout, and I don’t think I have had a team do that in the 13 years I’ve been coaching here,” Acker told his team after the game.

It also firmed up a preseason statement Acker made regarding the success of team will depend on “how quick we jel.” The win moved the Huricanes to 5-3.

“I guess we’re jelling,” he said.

The up-and-down season continued for Springfield (3-6-0) as the Cosmos, who were once 3-1, have lost five straight, but coach Kevin Hoisington feels he has a team that he likes.

“I’m not unhappy with the the way we played today,” he said. “We’re coming along.”

Acker said the fact that his team has been posting shutouts is no accident.

“If you look at the scores of our games, you will see that we don’t always score a lot of goals,” he explained. “So we have to work on our defense, and it’s been showing lately.”

Not only was there just one goal in the game, there were just 11 combined shots on goal. Neither team attempted a first-half corner kick. Much of that perhaps can be attributed to the field conditions that, while very playable, were wet.

The game was originally scheduled for Gurney Field at the high school, but moved to the football facility at Brown Memorial Field in Riverside Park.

Springfield gets right back at it on Wednesday at Fair Haven. Hartford hosts Mount Mansfield on Friday.