COLUMBIA — Winning four games this season was important to the Alton High girls soccer team and first-year head coach Jeff Hayes. It was the number the Redbirds won all last season – and it was the first of the preseason goals to fall. But even Hayes wasn’t sure the Birds would get there as fast as they did.

Alton dumped Columbia 4-1 Saturday night at Columbia High School to claim the championship of the Metro Cup Tournament’s Nike Bracket. The Redbirds went 3-0 in the tournament and slipped in a 2-1 non-tourney victory over Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin for good measure.

“I couldn’t ask for much more than four wins in the first six days of the season,” Hayes said. “I was a little worried about possibly having dead legs tonight with all the games we’ve played, but the girls came out fresh tonight and played well from the start.

“We wanted to get four goals as quicky as we could,” Hayes said. “It was the number we won all last season. Even I couldn’t have hoped for this though. We’ve had some good efforts against some good teams.”

Last season, the Redbirds went 4-12-1. So what’s made the difference?

“I think a lot of it is attitude,” Hayes said. “Our girls are pesky. They keep going hard and we’re winning balls we haven’t won in the past. It gives them confidence to get into position to score goals..

“Defensively, we’re comfortable and we have confidence in our goalies. We’re not playing defense as deep as we had in the past, either. We’re playing it higher up the field and that makes a difference too.”

Saturday, freshman Alaina Nasello scored a pair of goals for the Redbirds and teammate Brianna Hatfield had an unassisted goal and assisted on the other three.

“(Hatfield) is solid and sees the field so well,” Hayes said. “She creates a lot and is in the middle of just about everything that happens offensively.”

The diminutive Nasello, who stands in at 5 feet tall, broke a 1-1 tie with six minutes left in the first half when she scored off an assist from Hatfield. She later added the fourth goal in the second half on a header off a corner from Hatfield.

“(Nasello) can do a lot too,” Hayes said. “She can score and she can find open players. I now the older girls were excited to have her finally get here.”

Nasello is the daughter of former Alton High coach and player Greg Nasello, who also coached Hayes at Lewis and Clark Community College.

“Greg was an assistant at LC when I played there, then I coached against him when I was the boys coach at Granite City and now I’m coaching Alaina. She has a lot of talent in her family and she’s already putting it to use.”

Hatfield started the scoring in the 22nd minute with her unassisted goal. Columbia cut the lead in half with a goal in the 30th minute.

Nasello broke the tie in the 34th minute from Hatfield’s assist. That goal was followed by one from Mossman, who converted a Hatfield corner kick in the 37th minute. Nasello’s second goal was the only one of the second half and came in the 46th minute of play.

“After two or three goals were scored, it opened things up in the middle of the field and that worked to our advantage,” Hayes said. “We had more space at midfield.”

The going gets no easier this week for Alton. The Redbirds have a rematch with Freeburg Tuesday and then will play rival Marquette Catholic Wednesday at Gordon Moore Park.

“It’s a tough schedule,”Hayes said. “We had a tough (2-1) game with Freeburg in our first game and we know Marquette will be a tough one. I know how important that one is to the girls.”

Reach Pete Hayes at 463-2500 or Twitter @HayeserPete