Bryant girls make Fason’s early goal stand up for trip to State title match
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ROGERS — The Bryant Lady Hornets shut out the Bentonville Lady Tigers, who came into their match on Saturday with an eye-catching 18-2-1 record, to advance to the Class 7A State championship contest at the University of Arkansas soccer pitch next weekend.
The lone goal of the match came less than nine minutes in. Alyssa Fason found the back of the net after being fed a ball through by Ashton Inman, who split the defenders. Fason got behind them then finished past the keeper.
Bryant’s defense and offensive control frustrated Bentonville after that as the Lady Tigers struggled to get a decent shot on goal.
“We had a lot of possession and the girls fought all out for the game,” said Bryant’s first-year head coach Nicole Inman. “Bentonville had a few chances but nothing super scary.”
Senior keeper Brittney Warner had six saves, but few if any were of a strenuous nature.
“Honestly, I think we wanted it more and turned that into a win,” Inman declared.
“We had a few breakaways we didn’t capitalize on, but we had some good chances,” she added. “It was an all-out team effort for those on the bench and the field. Now we get ready for next weekend.”
The time and date for the title match will be announced early this week. Bryant, now 17-5, was the second seed from the 7A-Central Conference. The Lady Hornets will take on the second seed from the 7A-West, Rogers, which knocked off Central champion Conway.
