LITTLE ROCK — For the second week in a row, the surging Bryant Lady Hornets soccer team knocked off a team ahead of them in the 7A-Central Conference standings and they’ve now moved a game out of second place with three weeks left in the regular season.
After knocking off Conway, 2-0, on Tuesday April 10 — just the second loss of the league season for the Lady Cats — Bryant pinned a 3-1 loss on the Mount St. Mary Belles Tuesday, dropping them out of sole possession of second place in the conference.
The Lady Hornets, with their fourth win in a row since a stunning 6-1 loss to Cabot, are 6-3 in the 7A-Central and 11-4 overall, with Mount and Conway each with two league losses now.
Bryant is set to travel to Little Rock Central on Friday then, on Tuesday, April 24, they’ll travel to Fort Smith to take on the Southside Lady Mavericks, unbeaten in conference play at this point. Earlier in the season, Bryant edged the Lady Mavs, 2-1, in the Fort Smith Invitational Tournament. But Southside turned the tables on the Lady Hornets, 2-1, when they met in Bryant early in the conference season.
“I’m proud of the girls’ fight and team effort in this game,” said Lady Hornets head coach Nicole Inman. “It was a good game. We just came away with better play for the majority, which gave us more opportunities.
The game was scoreless at the half.
“Mount came out ready to attack and it took us about 20 minutes to start to really possess and create opportunities,” Inman said. “We got caught offsides a few times but what really solidified the game was that we didn’t allow our failures to dictate our next step.
“By the middle of the half, we were gaining opportunities and settling into the attack,” she continued.
Less than nine minutes into the second half, the Inman twins teamed up on a goal to break the ice. Abbie Inman assisted on a goal by Ashton Inman. A little over three minutes later, Ashlyn Thompson fed Alyssa Fason for a goal at the 28:13 mark to make it 2-0.
“At half, we decided we had had enough and came out with some more fight,” Coach Inman said. “We began pushing the attack.
“We talk a lot about the two minutes after a goal for either team and how dangerous that time is,” she explained. “We capitalized with a second goal and then, when Mount St. Mary hit a long ball that came straight down, they called that a goal.”
That disputed the goal came with 18:22 left and cut the margin to 2-1.
“We scored a minute later,” the coach noted.
Indeed, Madison Humbard found Lauren Heath who knocked it through with 17:18 to go.
Keeper Addison Funk had seven saves in the match and the Lady Hornets stymied the Belles the rest of the way.
