Bryant girls win soccer debut
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continue posting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
TEXARKANA — Mandi Howell scored three goals and Lindsey Phillips two as the Bryant Lady Hornets soccer team rolled to a 6-0 win in their 2003 season opener at Texarkana on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
The Lady Hornets allowed just 10 shots on goal and two of those were late penalty kicks. Goal-keeper Michelle Densmore came up with eight saves and Crystal Shoemake had saves on both of the penalty kicks to preserve the shutout.
Laura Mackey accounted for Bryant’s sixth goal, Sarah Bunten was credited with two assists as the Lady Hornets fired 30 shots on goal in the contest.
“We played well,” acknowledged Lady Hornets coach Doug Maxwell. “We’re working out a couple of kinks in the system right now but I was really pleased with how we executed for the first time out. We didn’t execute quite as sharp as we hopefully will be later on this season, but we had a lot of people step up and we really controlled the tempo of the game.
“I feel real good about only giving up 10 shots on goal,” he added. “They really didn’t get off anything inside our 18, no serious threats there.
“We got good execution from our forwards,” Maxwell noted. “It’s been one of our weak points the last two years. We really haven’t had many scoring threats up front. But with Lindsey up in the middle, Mandi on the left side and Sarah Bunten — she moved up from defender this year to striker on the right side — there’s three up there, doing a good job taking shots on goal. We’re looking good right now.”
The Lady Hornets are set to play their home opener on Tuesday, Feb. 25, against the rival Benton Lady Panthers. The Bryant boys team will be making its season debut that night, as well.
