Searcy girls unable to slow down Bryant
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Photo by Rick Nation
The Bryant Lady Hornets soccer team responded to the challenge presented by the Searcy Lady Lions, a perennial statewide powerhouse, Thursday night with a 5-1 victory at Bryant Stadium. Caroline Campbell and Rori Whittaker each had two goals and Jacie McMahan added the fifth.
Rori Whittaker had two goals in Thursday’s match. (Photo by Rick Nation)
The Lady Hornets improved to 16-0-2 on the season with three South Conference matches left on the regular-season schedule. They’re set to travel to Texarkana today then host Lake Hamilton on Senior Night on Tuesday, May 6. They conclude with a trip to El Dorado on Friday, May 9.
The Class 7A State Tournament begins May 15 in Fayetteville. The Lady Hornets are in position to claim the No. 1 seed in the 7A-West and the first-round bye that goes with it.
Searcy’s goal, with 2:29 left to play snapped a string of five shutouts in a row for Bryant. No one, however, has scored more than one goal against the Lady Hornets in a match this season.
“I was very pleased with how the girls played especially in the first half,” stated Bryant head coach Julie Long. “They moved the ball and played better soccer than we really have the majority of the year.”
The Lady Hornets scored all five goals in the first half.
“I am impressed with this group as far as their ability to adjust to the different game speeds,” Long mentioned. “This was a faster-paced game than what they normally see. They adjusted well and rose the occasion.
“The best thing was seeing the girls’ passing come back,” she added. “We pretty much played one- and two-touch soccer the majority of the game.”
Whittaker scored the match’s first goal just under 10 minutes in off a corner, heading it in off the pass from Tori Rose. Campbell added her first goal at 25:48 with Anna Lowery picking up the assist.
Less than two minutes passed before McMahan found the range with Rose picking up the second of her three assists. At 20:39, Rose assisted on Campbell’s second goal.
It stayed 4-0 until Whittaker scored off a corner by Campbell at 4:09.
Searcy managed two shots on goal, three overall and Bryant keeper Maddie Hawkins had a save.
“They have had a long week,” Long said of her team. “We are going to continue to work on finding new ways to score as well. Overall, I’m very pleased with the game. However, as a coach, I’m always finding things we can get better at and work on. So we will continue to emphasize the small things that will hopefully make a big difference later on.”
