No upset this time: Bryant boys bounce Benton
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be 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 Rick Nation and Kevin Nagle
Bryant’s Bryce Denker powers a shot past the Benton goal keeper. (photo by Rick Nation)
They weren’t going to let it happen again.
A year ago, the Bryant Hornets soccer team was laying waste to the rest of the South Conference on the way to the program’s first league championship and, ultimately, their best season overall so far. Among the teams that the unbeaten Hornets had dismissed was the rival Benton Panthers at Benton, 3-1. But when Benton made the return trip to Bryant, the Panthers stunned the Hornets, 2-1, to put the lone blemish on their league record.
Fast-forward to this year and, once again, the Hornets are wading through the conference by a composite margin of 46-4 including a 5-2 win at Benton.
On Thursday night, the Panthers made the return trip with a little déjà vu in mind. But the Hornets wouldn’t have it, rolling to a 5-0 win.
Brian Resendiz heads a ball towards the goal in a crowd of Benton Panthers during Thursday’s JV match. (Photos by Kevin Nagle)
Bryant improved to 9-4 overall and 7-0 in conference play going into a challenging non-conference match at Conway on April 21.
“The boys were really ready to play this game,” acknowledged Hornets coach Brett Haugh. “They had been preparing for it mentally and physically all week. It showed from the effort and performance that was given. We controlled the entire game.”
Still, it took awhile to get a shot into the net.
“Benton was playing heavy defense, which was working until, at the 7:34 mark in the first half, Bryan Oldham put a cross in that deflected off of a Benton defender,” Haugh recounted.
It didn’t take long to add a second goal — almost exactly a minute later. Bryce Denker blazed a shot into the net to make it 2-0.
Before the half was over, Blake Reed found the back of the net and the Hornets went into the intermission, leading 3-0.
“The boys came out the second half playing the best possession soccer we have played all year,” Haugh related. “We moved the ball very well.”
At 26:39, Houston Chavis added to the lead off an assist by Krishna Gurung. The Hornets put the finishing touches on the win in the final minute when Evan Caddy scored off a header from a corner kick taken by Denker.
“This was a good win for us starting the second round of conference,” Haugh noted.
Bryant also won the junior varsity game. Brian Resendiz had the lone goal in the 40-minute half. Gurung provided the assist at the 8:50 mark.
Evan Caddy (10) works around a Benton defender. (Photo by Rick Nation)
Photo by Kevin Nagle
