Boys earn second conference victory
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CABOT — The Bryant Hornets scored three second-half goals and claimed their second 7A-Central Conference victory, 3-1, over the Cabot Panthers on Friday, March 23. The win, which improved the Hornets to 3-5 overall and 2-5 in league play going into the second half of the league’s home-and-home schedule after a week off for spring break, puts the team in contention for a bid to the Class 7A State Tournament.
Meanwhile, the encouraging 0-0 tie against conference powerhouse Conway earlier in the week, didn’t carry quite carry over for the Lady Hornets who absorbed a 3-1 loss to Cabot to fall 0-5-1 in league play, 1-6-1 overall going into the break.
The Bryant JV boys prevailed 5-1 behind four goals from freshman Sean Sobba.
In the varsity boys game, Cabot scored the only goal of the first half. Bryant tied it with about 27 minutes left in the game when senior Gueorgui Tchamkoriyski got a breakaway and beat the Cabot goalkeeper one-on-one. About five minutes later, senior Cary Ball put the Hornets ahead.
“It was from about 25 or 30 out,” recalled Hornets head coach Kenny Horn. “He hit a rocket, got the corner. It was a great play.”
It stayed 2-1 until, with about five minutes left, the Hornets got a free kick.
“We had a good run and Jesse Kyle caught a rebound and scored,” Horn said.
“That second half was the best half of soccer I’ve seen us play since I’ve been at Bryant,” stated the coach. “It was really great. I think they smelled the win and they started going crazy out there. Maybe it’ll carry over. I told the guys they may be able to beat some of those other guys that beat us before if they play this well.”
The Bryant teams return to action on Tuesday, April 3, at North Little Rock.
The girls game went just about the opposite way. Bryant took the 1-0 lead in the first half before Cabot scored three times in the second half to win it.
Bryant’s goal came in the early stages of the game when Maggie Griffith fed Randi Whittaker who knocked it in.
“We had five more legitimate scoring opportunities in the first half and just couldn’t connect on it,” noted Lady Hornets head coach Doug Maxwell. “We made some great crossing passes but the timing was a little bit off.”
Cabot tied it about 10 minutes into the second half.
“It was just a miscommunication between my sweeper and my keeper,” Maxwell said.
It looked like it might stay tied but Cabot managed another goal on a free kick from 20 feet out with about five minutes left in the game to take the lead. The third goal came about a minute later.
“It was almost the same spot, same kick,” Maxwell recounted.
“Spring break’s coming at a good time for us,” commented the coach. “We’re mentally and emotionally a little drained, a little fatigued right now.
“I thought we had gotten a step closer to getting over the hump the other night against Conway,” he added. “Our defense is playing well and holding people but when our offense isn’t putting points on the board, it makes it difficult all around. We’re just struggling to get that offense fired up.”
