March 15 in Bryant athletic history: 2011

Hornets whip Benton, launch into conference opener

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).

Photos by Kevin Nagle

The Bryant Hornets soccer team figures to use their[more] 3-1 win over the rival Benton Panthers on throwback uniforms night on Monday as a springboard into conference play.

They open at perennial power Little Rock Central on Thursday.

Monday’s game was throwback night. Not only did the Hornets wear uniforms from the original Bryant High School soccer team of 1997, former players returned to help salute Bob Williams and Drew Bunten, who were instrumental in getting soccer started at the varsity level at BHS. Williams still serves as a volunteer advisor.

The Hornets improved to 5-4-1 overall against a rigorous pre-conference schedule.

They took a 1-0 lead on the Panthers when Alex Rowlan scored. Moments later, Forrest Fowler made it 2-0.

“Forrest stole the ball from the back and dribbled through the entire Benton team to take a shot from the top of the 18,” related Hornets head coach Jason Hay.

Bryant made it 3-0 at the half when Justin Travis found the net off a nice feed from Ben Stukenborg with about 10 minutes left in the first half.

“We finally came out and took shots that we have not been taking lately,” Hay noted. “We cannot wait to dribble the ball into the 6 before we take shots. Those do not happen very often. We took a lot of shots outside the 18 tonight.

“Overall, it was a good game to cap off the non-conference season,” he concluded.

In a junior varsity half, Bryant improved to 2-0 with a 2-0 win. Blake Reed and Caleb Lambert accounted for the goals.