Caddy, Hornets surge past Panthers in second half
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Photos by Rick Nation
BENTON — The Bryant Hornets drilled four goals in the second half including two by Evan Caddy as they surged to a 5-2 win over the rival Benton Panthers in the South Conference debut for both teams on Tuesday.
Hornets keeper Slade Lewis makes a save. (Photo by Rick Nation)
Caddy finished with a hat trick, adding the second-half goals to one he scored in the first half, which ended with the teams tied 1-1.
“This was a great win for us starting out conference,” stated Bryant coach Brett Haugh. “All the players were really looking forward to this game. The boys worked really hard and we are starting to see everything come together as a team.”
It was not lost on the Hornets that, at the end of the conference season last spring, Benton spoiled an unbeaten run through the league by upsetting the Hornets, 2-1, snapping a nine-match winning streak for Bryant and forcing a shared league title.
“The boys came out in the first half playing pretty well,” Haugh stated. “We just had some mistakes here and there. Benton got on the board first when we had a defensive breakdown. But the boys kept fighting hard.”
At the 21:23 mark of the first half, Caddy tied it off an assist from Bryce Denker.
Caddy’s second goal came about 10 minutes into the second half and it stayed that way until the final eight minutes when the Hornets put together a three-goal flurry in four minutes.
Caddy’s third goal came at the 7:53 mark. Less than a minute later, Denker slipped one past the Benton keeper with Dylan Wolf getting the assist.
Bradley Oldham put the finishing touches on the victory when he took a pass from Krisha Gurung and found the back of the net at the 4:02 mark.
The Hornets wrap up play before spring break this Friday when they play Pine Bluff.
“It will give us some time for the boys to get over some sickness that has been going through the team,” Haugh said of next week’s break.
Bryce Denker pushes the ball upfield ahead of a Benton defender. (Photo by Rick Nation)
