McKenzie, TN — The LSUA women's soccer(1-1) team visited the Bethel Wildcats (3-0) on Monday, losing 1-0.
From the opening whistle Bethel was able to put pressure on the visiting team with 4 shots on goal in the first 15 minutes. With some difficulty connecting passes through their defensive lines, LSUA kept shooting from distance, including two great chances with Micah Pond and Theresa Langauer, but the keeper made a couple of saves to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
At the 41 minute mark, LSUA's Micah Pond, played a beautiful ball through the Bethel defensive line to Theresa Langauer who just missed, marking the best opportunity for the Generals in the first half.
Bethel came out aggressive to start the 2nd half. After a throw in by LSUA in the far corner of Bethel defensive line, the Wildcats stole the ball and were able to connect 4 passes to get to the 18-yard box of the Generals. Bethel's Carla Cebollada placed a low cross ball in front of the net, where Nathalie Rojas was able to put it in the back of the net giving the home team a 1-0 lead.
With a one goal lead, Bethel kept pressuring LSUA while playing from different sides of the field. Alyssa Andrea was great in the goal for the Generals keeping the deficit to a single goal. With only a few chances in the second half, LSUA was not able to get the equalizer and the game finished 1-0.
After the game coach Mark Hammond gave us a few words:
"We came against a very organized & competitive side today. I felt that we battled & competed for the full 90 minutes. Unfortunately, when you don't take your opportunities it will be difficult to win games. We didn't take our opportunities early in the game & we're punished. I'm proud of the commitment to each other today & we'll be looking add a little more quality to our play to get us back on track."
LSUA will be back in action this Friday, September 9th, for their home opener against Brookhaven at 3:00pm at Generals Field
