If anything, history has taught the Chelsea High School girls soccer team that against Southeastern Conference rival Huron, defense is a must.

The Bulldogs have learned that on most occasions, shutting down scoring chances must precede setting up opportunities of their own. But Thursday night, an early dose of Chelsea offense put the River Rats on their heels, leading to a 3-2 victory in the SEC opener for both teams. Chelsea (4-0-2, 1-0 SEC) required less than three minutes to accomplish what the Bulldogs would take much longer to do: Score and force Huron (2-2, 0-1 SEC) to change its possession-driven plan of attack.

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Kelly Fournier scored the first of her two goals - taking an assist from Anna Rode and quickly finishing what would prove to be only a handful of chances, quickly changing the momentum of the game with only 2:43 expired off the clock. It proved to be pivotal in allowing Chelsea to dictate the pace rather than trying to keep the River Rats from striking first. "We came out and we wanted to score right away," Fournier said. "It was really important for us to come out hard and obviously, it paid off." Not just once, but twice. Rode doubled Chelsea's lead 13 minutes later, taking a perfectly-centered pass from Brooke Gier and slipping a shot past diving Huron goalie Michelle Freed. And after figuring it they would have to rely more on their defense to get the job done, the Bulldogs had built a 2-goal advantage, leaving Huron to change its game plan. "They forced us to play with a sense of urgency," Huron coach Reese Richardson said. "That made us play a little bit out of our comfort zone. If we would have been able to play even to start out the game, it would have helped out. "But the fact we found ourselves in a hole early on really put a lot of pressure on us to convert."

Unlike Chelsea, Huron couldn't manage to finish when it got chances around the net. Twice, shots on goal appeared headed for the back of the net before Bulldog defenders cleared the ball, keeping the River Rats off the board. That changed, though, with 13:13 remaining when Chelsea was whistled for a hand ball in the box, setting Huron up with a penalty kick. Meg Boyer finished the chance, drilling a shot, trimming the deficit to only 1. As if having their lead cut in half wasn't enough to try and deal with, Chelsea had to overcome losing one of its top defenders. Sarah Bingel suffered what appeared to be a broken jaw after colliding with a Huron forward, leaving Bulldogs coach Kirsten Smart to compose her players at halftime. Bingel's injury instead inspired her teammates. Fournier struck again just more than 7 minutes into the second half, pushing Chelsea's lead back to two goals. The Bulldogs defense maintained the cushion the remainder of the way before Huron's Ainsley McCallister registered a goal with only 21 seconds remaining. By then, Chelsea's solid defense had all but shut the River Rats down, playing without Bingel while other defenders played through injuries to keep the Bulldogs' unbeaten. All while keeping Bingel in the forefront of their minds. "We wanted to much to win for her," Fournier said. "She played so well when she was here and we didn't want to have to send her a text saying we didn't win. It was our job to make sure we got her the win." Mission accomplished. Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by email at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.