The Lees-McRae College Lady Bobcats soccer team honored senior
captains Katherine Smith and Anita Hekman prior to Wednesday
evenings match up against Bluefield College. The seniors were sent
out in style with a convincing 5-0 win. The win improves the Lady
Bobcats to 5-8-1 (2-5-1 CVAC).
Jenna Simpson put the Lady Bobcats on the board just three
minutes into the contest when she beat her defender one on one
inside the 18 yard box and buried a shot past Bluefield goalkeeper
Rebekah Dunham. Smith (pictured) would score her second collegiate
goal in her final home game after attempting to cross the ball from
the corner in the 21st minute. A miscommunication between Dunham
and a Lady Rams defender allowed the ball to bounce into the back
of the net. Just two minutes later, Tiffany Coleman blasted a shot
from the top of the box that Dunham was unable to control sending
the Lady Bobcats into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
As the second half began, heavy rain began to fall. Aerial
Gregston received a pass inside from Gennie Garcia and scored to
give Lees-McRae a commanding 4-0 lead as the rain began falling
faster and harder. Conditions worsened but both teams managed to
play on, despite the slick and muddied field. Maribeth Novak would
receive a pass across the top of the box from Simpson in the 78th
minute, burying a shot to the far post and past Dunham for the
game's final tally. Minutes after the restart, officials called
the game with just over ten minutes to play due to poor playing
conditions.
Hekman finished her final collegiate home game with 6 saves,
bringing her season total to 107. Hekman entered the game ranked
11th and 15th in the nation in total saves and saves per game
respectively.
"We were really excited with the victory which will be a
building block for an important game in the CVAC standings versus
Erskine," commented Head Coach Renee Lopez. "We still need to put
90 minutes together of great soccer and we are hoping to do that on
Saturday."
The Lady Bobcats will travel to Erskine College this weekend for
a conference game against the Flying Fleet. Kick off is set for
5:00p.m.
