Late first-half flurry sends Lady Hornets on their way to victory at Van Buren
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VAN BUREN — Though they managed an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Haley Montgomery, it wasn’t until a two-minute flurry late in the first half that the Bryant Lady Hornets found their footing on Thursday, April 2. The result was a 5-0 win over the Van Buren Pointerettes that improved the Lady Hornets to 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the 7A-Central Conference heading into a week when they take on Russellville and Conway at home.
The Lady Hornets are tied with Russellville for fourth in the league behind unbeaten Conway, second-place Mount St. Mary’s and third-place Little Rock Central. Bryant lost to Conway in a closer-than-it-looks contest, 6-2, and fell at Russellville 2-0 earlier in the season. They have yet to play Central.
And the Lady Hornets were just coming off a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss in double overtime to Mount, their first home loss of the season. Something that, along with the long trip to Van Buren, had head coach Doug Maxwell concerned going into Thursday’s game.[more]
“I definitely feel for Van Buren having to make that long trip because it definitely wears on you,” Maxwell stated. “It’s a rough trip to make and they made most of their trips early in the season. I can see how that can impact your play. We were definitely sluggish getting off the bus. Then what started as a rainy, nasty game turned into a bitter cold, windy game at the end
“I’m not sure we were quite recovered from spring break plus from the Mount St. Mary’s match,” he added. “You lose in double overtime to Mount in a physical, emotional game on Tuesday. I was proud of the way the girls responded. I was pleased with the way we played. The girls took care of business and put us back into good shape to make a run at it the second half of the season. There’s still some things we need to work on to get ready for next week. But I’m always pleased to come away, especially a road conference game, with a victory.”
Thirty minutes in, the Lady Hornets were still leading by just 1-0 against Van Buren. Montgomery’s initial goal came 88 seconds into play. But, in rapid succession, she scored again as did Amber Moskow and Sarah Manning to make it 4-0 at the half. Moskow added her second goal in the second half. Katie Moore and Maggie Hart had assists along the way.
Keeper Megan Childress recorded six saves in the contest.
In the JV match, the teams battled to a 0-0 tie over 60 minutes of play.
