Lady Trojans denied in BRD
New Kent’s Lady Trojans entertained Bruton’s Panthers in a Bay Rivers District regular season finale soccer clash with nothing on the line other than avoiding a finish in the basement. Both teams sought their first district victory in the May 13 encounter.
Unfortunately for the hosts, a two-goal Bruton lead in the second half proved too much to overcome as the Panthers held on for a 4-3 win. New Kent’s season ended at 0-8-1 in the district and 5-8-1 overall.
“We were lazy in the penalty area and gave up some easy goals,” said New Kent coach Chad Honeycutt. “That’s the story of our season. This was a team we should have beaten, but they were just floating shots in. We could have been popping shots on them all night, but we just didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”
Four minutes into the contest, Bruton broke on top as Meredith Baldasare dribbled past defenders along the sideline and punched a shot past keeper Casey Spencer.
New Kent retaliated just past the first half’s midpoint when Anna Black hooked a corner kick into the net to create a 1-1 deadlock. But the tie did not last long. A minute later, Baldasare lofted a shot over Spencer to put the Panthers back on top.
With eight minutes left before the break, New Kent’s Abbie McIninch hammered a shot off the top of the Panther goal. Teammate Katie Kirkpatrick, positioned in front of the net, punched in the rebound to knot the affair at 2-2. But just before time ran out, Bruton moved in front to stay on Kelly Abbinanti’s shot off a corner kick.
Baldasare managed her third goal with less than 19 minutes left in the game to extend the Bruton lead to 4-2. Three minutes later, McIninch dribbled past defenders, winning a one-on-one opportunity against Panther keeper Eleni Koliopoulos to pull the Lady Trojans back within one.
New Kent had its opportunities down the stretch to force overtime. McIninch got another breakaway chance with seven minutes to go, but Koliopoulos smothered the shot. Moments later, McIninich drilled a direct free kick, but right at the Panther keeper for a save. Finally, Panther defenders blocked a pair of New Kent shots in the final two minutes.
In the evenly matched affair, each team fired 23 shots. Spencer managed 13 saves.