By Kyle Lehnick
After giving up two goals in the first half to the Bowie Lady Bulldogs, the Hays Lady Rebels make an impressive comeback but were one goal shy of forcing a shootout in a 2-1 defeat.
Bowie controlled possession early, keeping the Lady Rebels from playing their brand of soccer.
“You feel panicked and anxious when that happens,” Hays head coach Brent Holcomb said. “That’s something we’ve been working on and have gotten better at over the last few games.”
The Lady Bulldogs put a goal on the scoreboard just four and a half minutes into play when the ball deflected off Hays defender Bailey Sanders and into the net.
Hays started controlling the possession more effectively while laying balls upfield for attackers to make a move. No luck, however, could be had around the net.
Bowie scored again with 8:40 left in the first half when a Bowie striker made a breakaway. Hays goalkeeper Courtney Limmer pushed up to put pressure on the striker, but missed the break, diving away from the direction the striker dealt the ball.
Hays came out hot in the second half, finding the net with 31:30 still to play. Maya Hood found a deflected ball and punched it in.
“When we keep our heads, we find our game again. That’s what happened, we started to possess a lot better and put a goal on them,” said Coach Holcomb, “And then we cooled a little bit.”
The Lady Rebels and Bowie were at a moot point for the remainder of play, with neither team finding the net again.
Holcomb revealed what he thought held Hays from the win Friday night.
“We did a lot of passing to them tonight. When we fixed that, it got better, and then we just didn’t look up and play,” Holcomb said. “The ‘it’ factor is not being anxious, staying true to our game and really wanting it. That’s what we did to Austin High, and that was a major victory.”
Looking ahead to post season, Hays’ chances have slimmed due to Lehman’s 2-0 victory over Austin High.
The two teams split their season meetings, but Lehman is currently third in district standings with a 7-5 district record. Hays is sitting at 6-6, tied with Austin High.
“We have to play every game on its own terms and we have to put ourselves in the best spot possible,” Holcomb said. “Right now, we must win the next two games.”