By Aaron Shuttleworth
It was a night for overtimes.
But unlike the Lady Hornets, the overtime did not go in favor for the home team Bryant Hornets on Tuesday night.
With 3:03 left in the first overtime, a Cabot Panther shot it past Bryant goal keeper Devon Norris to end the game.
With that one goal the Hornets left with a disappointing 0-1 defeat.
But there was no need for them to hang their heads. The Hornets played a tremendous game.
Norris only had three saves throughout the night. The reason for that was the push the defenders were making against the Panthers. Brandon Parish was flying all over the field; bright yellow cleats moving as fast as his legs would allow them. Tyler Salminen did a good job defensively along with Forrest Fowler and Kyle Nossamon.[more]
Because of them and the other Hornet midfielders, Norris went into the overtime without anything reaching the back of the net. At 16:40 in the second half, Jesse Wolf saved a goal by heading the ball while inside the 6 yard box.
The offense took a total of 14 shots on goal with one coming in the overtime. Sean Sobba, Ryan Watson and Wolf were in, causing a stir throughout the course of the game. With 13:48 left, Sobba broke free and made a run to the goal. He sent in a rocket but it just went wide right of the net.
The Hornets did actually score in the OT. But it was called a "no goal" by the officiating crew as they ruled a Hornet player was offsides. But the line judge could not keep up with the play and was 20 yards back. There is no way he could have seen if the Hornet player was off or not (which he was not).
When asked about the officiating crew, Hornets coach Jason Hay had no comment.
It’s always disappointing when an outside force determines the outcome of the game for either side, this is coming from a sports lover not a Hornet fan.
But this game is in the books and over with. What’s done is done. The Hornets, who are now 6-5 overall and 3-3 in the 7A-Central Conference, will face North Little Rock come Thursday night. The Charging Wildcats will be looking for their first conference win against the Hornets. It is not a game that the Hornets can take lightly.
"We need to go in strong and prepared for them," Hay said.
