The Batesville Lady Bulldogs and the East Central Lady Trojans squared off on Monday night for the chance to wrap up the conference title with EC winning 1-0.
It was senior night at Batesville, as the Lady Bulldogs honored five senior players. Before the game, Gabi Garcia, Bre Moman, Baylee Rohlfing, Taylor Rowlett, and Jessica Westerfeld were honored with the senior festivities before the game.
Once the game got started, East Central caught Batesville off-guard in the first minute of the match, scoring what would eventually be the game winner. After a Batesville turnover, EC countered and got a cross off from the right wing, Ema Hinton took a half-step towards the ball and beat the Lady Bulldog defender for the score. Batesville had several good looks throughout the half but could not come up with the equalizer. EC outshot BHS 5 – 4 in the first half.
In the second half, Batesville ramped up the pressure and had much of the possession and more opportunities on goal. The Lady Bulldog defense did its job and held the Lady Trojans scoreless for the remaining 78 minutes after the initial goal. The Batesville offense had its opportunities but just could not finish any of the opportunities. Batesville outshot East Central 8-7 on the game in what became a defensive battle. Ellie Cassidy and Allison Storms led the Bulldog defense and were shutting down the opportunities for the Lady Trojans.
Bulldogs Coach Kyle Laker commented on the game, “I was really proud of our effort tonight! Despite giving up the early goal, we hung with them and outplayed them at times but just could not get the breakthrough goal. Gabi Garcia made her debut in goal tonight and played really well in her new position. This senior group was great tonight and it was unfortunate that we could not pull off the win for them.”
JV Score. East Central 2-0