The Lees-McRae College Lady Bobcats faced off against Queens
University Tuesday in Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference
quarterfinal action Tuesday evening, falling to the regular season
champion Lady Royals 4-2. The Lady Bobcats end their season with
6-11-1 record.
Maribeth Novak (pictured) put the Lady Bobcats on the board
first with a goal in the 25th minute. However, the depth of the
first place Lady Royals answered back with a pair of quick goals by
Tamara Dias-Matosas and Shannon Sweeney in the 36th and 39th
minutes respectively. The Lady Royals rode the turn in momentum
into the locker room at half time with a 2-1 lead.
In the second half, the Lady Royals proved just why they
finished the season with a 10-1 conference record with another goal
in the 54th minute off the foot of Hayley Pasko. Down 3-1, the
Lady Bobcats continued to battle, trying to close the gap. In the
84th minute, it was Novak again who solved Queens goalkeeper
Kristin Kornacki with a bullet to cut the lead to 3-2. Before the
Lady Bobcats could gain the equalizer, Jackie Groff scored just
over two minutes later to give the Lady Royals the 4-2 lead, and
the win.
Senior Captain Anita Hekman played her final game in goal for
the Lady Bobcats registering 23 saves, bringing her season total to
170, a new single season high. Hekman also set a single season
career high this season with 6 wins. Novak finished the season as
the Lady Bobcats leading scorer with eight goals.
The Lady Bobcats six wins in 2006 doubled their win total from
2005.
"I'm very proud of our ladies
this evening. We came out and battled for 90 minutes against the
top team in the conference. We definitely made Queens work to
advance, commented Head Coach Renee Lopez. "Anita came out and
gave everything she had tonight with her 23 save performance.
Maribeth's two goals proved why she is one of the top players in
the conference. I'm extremely proud of the strides we have made in
doubling our win total from last year with being such a young team
with fifteen freshman. If we can continue to develop in the
offseason, I am confident we can make a good run at the CVAC Final
Four next season."
