Photo courtesy of Nikki Funk
CABOT — Ashton Inman and Mary Catherine Selig each had goals second-half goals as the Bryant Lady Hornets survived illness and the Cabot Lady Panthers with a 2-0 win at Panthers Stadium on Friday night.
“The girls are battling a nasal and throw sickness that has quite a few of them down,” noted Lady Hornets head coach Nicole Inman. “We struggled to finish tonight, and we had lots of opportunities to put the ball in. We’re hoping a little bit of rest and vitamins will help these girls get to feeling great.”
The win did clinch a first-round bye in the Class 6A State Tournament for the Lady Hornets, now 11-1 in league play and 13-1 overall. Only Mount St. Mary Academy could catch Bryant for second place, but the Lady Hornets swept the Belles in their conference match-ups this season, giving them a tiebreaker.
Of course, the Lady Hornets still have a chance to tie for a conference championship. With a win on Senior Night on Tuesday against North Little Rock, it would set up a first-place showdown at Conway to wrap up the season on Friday. Conway eked out a win in their first meeting in a shootout.
Bryant, which downed Cabot 6-0 at home on April 2, worked to a scoreless duel by halftime of Friday’s match. With most of the game played on Bryant’s end, the Lady Panthers managed few goal opportunities though keeper Addison Funk had two saves.
Ashton Inman broke Bryant’s goose egg with 12:54 left in the match off a deflection in front of the goal. At the 9:25 mark, Inman assisted on Selig’s goal to set the final score.
In all, Bryant had 16 shot on goal.
