LEWISBURG -- Lewisburg continued to stake its claim as the new league's best by beating Hughesville 5-1 on Thursday in the Heartland Athletic Conference Division II.

The win pushed the Green Dragons' record to 12-1 and 11-1 HAC-II.

Lewisburg's offense was led by Allysia Ketchem, who scored two of Lewisburg's' five goals and also contributed defensively by controlling the middle of the field.

"She has been a great offensive threat for us all year," Lewisburg coach Jose Vega said. "This had to be her 30th goal of the year. I can't say enough for what she has meant to this team, as a leader and example for the younger players."

Ketchum's first goal came just two into the game when she booted a ball over the keeper's head.

"The early goal hurt," Hughesville (7-9, 5-9 HAC-II) coach Steve Taylor said. "It just takes the girls out of the game. This is a young team and getting the early momentum taken away like that hurts."

Ketchum's second goal of the contest came in the second half at the 35:10 mark when she again connected with a shot that just made it over the keeper's head.

"She knows where to put the ball to get past the keeper," Vega said. "Again, with an offensive attack like that there isn't much to say. She knows when to strike, and that can't be taught."

Following the early score by Ketchum, Kalyn Fisher connected for three textbook centering passes, but couldn't find anyone to boot the ball into the net for the second goal of the game. All three centers bounced past the goal and were collected by a Hughesville defender.

All that changed at the 16:59 mark when Meghan Valentine decided to return the favor and hit a centering pass of her own that Fisher connected with to get the Green Dragons' second goal.

The Green Dragons defense held the Spartans without a corner kick for the duration of the game and limited the offensive attack to one quality shot the entire first half.

In the second half, Hughesville was able to get more looks, but struggled to put any kind of a rhythm together because of Lewisburg's ball hawking defensive attack. The Spartans struggled just to move the ball across mid-field.

"The defense played well today," said Vega. "They did a good job of limiting shots and especially corner kicks."

Although the game was well at hand late, Hughesville continued to work its way through Lewisburg's defense. The effort finally paid off in the form of a late goal by Dana Shearer on a rebound.

"The goal at the end shows the fight in this team," Taylor said. "We have a lot of young players and a lot of injuries, but I think the late goal tells a lot about the character of the team."