DOWAGIAC — Versatility and the ability to adapt have helped the No. 14-ranked Dowagiac soccer team get off to a great start this season.

The Chieftains racked up three more victories on Saturday as Dowagiac cruised to victory in its invitational tournament.

Dowagiac beat Bangor 5-1, blew out Lawton 8-0 in a match that lasted just one half, and defeated Cassopolis 5-0 in a match that was more competitive than the final score would indicate.

And Mike Williams’ team did that without the services of Isaac Saavedra and Noah Green.

Dowagiac did not miss a beat as the goals keep coming at a record pace for the Chieftains. So far in 2019, Dowagiac has scored 60 goals this season. Only four times this year have the Chieftains been held to less than eight goals — the season opener against Niles, a 7-0 loss to St. Joseph, a 3-1 win over Vicksburg in its Wolverine Conference opener and a 5-1 win against Bangor on Saturday.

Williams credits the ability of his team to send multiple-goal scorers at its opponents.

“We have a lot of offensive players that have the ability to score, which allows me to mix up the offense into different lineups,” Williams said.

On Saturday at the Chieftain Invitational, six different players scored.

Cristian Wilson and Cole Weller led the way with six goals each.

“We played very well in all three games,” Williams said. “We were short two key players, but you could not tell. That’s a credit to our team and how regardless of who is there we play as a team. I was really pleased with our outside attacks and finishing. We have been spending a lot of time on that.”

Also scoring for the Chieftains were Alex Hernandez, Ben McCrorey (3), Matt Mosier and Gustavo Cruz.

Dowagiac has also been playing well on defense and has gotten solid goalkeeping from both Kelvyn Bravo and Alejandro Martinez.

While all the early season success is nice, Williams knows that the toughest matches on his schedule loom ahead in the Wolverine Conference.

Dowagiac will begin a stretch of eight consecutive conference matches Monday night against Three Rivers. The Chieftains will also host Allegan on Wednesday. Wednesday’s match is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.