Gentry girls fall to Farmington, top LifeWay
GENTRY — On Friday, March 12, the Lady Pioneer soccer team hosted the Farmington Lady Cardinals in a pre-conference matchup. The team played at home again on Tuesday evening, March 16, against LifeWay for senior night.
On Friday, the girls played the Lady Cardinals for the first time, as last year was Farmington’s first season to have a team. The Lady Pioneers played a bit sluggish against Farmington. The Lady Cardinals were tall, quick and athletic, putting the Gentry girls at a slight physical disadvantage. In the first half of play, the Lady Cardinals made three shots on goal. Their first two goals went in early, and the third went in just before halftime. The ball spent a majority of the game in the midfield with several through balls going either direction. At halftime, the girls regrouped and challenged themselves to make some goals in the second half.
In the second 40, Lexi Fowler (12) took a corner kick that dropped in perfectly to the crowd of Lady Pioneers and Lady Cardinals. The ball was being hit back and forth between Gentry’s offense and the Farmington’s defenders when freshman Destiny Reinhardt got the perfect touch, kicking the ball up behind her and over her head into the back of the net. Reinhardt’s trick shot put the Lady Pioneers on the board Friday night. The game was a physical battle, with lots of shoving and bodying coming from both teams. In the final four minutes of play, the Lady Cardinals snuck in one last goal past Gentry keeper, Makenna Ward (12). Although 4 goals went by, Ward had 15+ saves against Farmington.
After their loss against the Lady Cardinals, the Lady Pioneers were determined to make a comeback against the LifeWay Lady Warriors on Tuesday night. Gentry hosted LifeWay for senior night, so their starting lineup for the night consisted of every senior on the team. Within the first 10 minutes of play, the Lady Pioneers had taken control of the game with two quick goals. Senior Ashlyn Little made the first goal of the game. Kaitlyn Caswell (9) assisted Little’s shot, which slid past LifeWay’s goalie into the bottom right corner of the goal. Caswell made the second goal around the 30-minute mark, dribbling the ball up the center and shooting a perfect shot into the back of the net. The girls played an offense-heavy game, getting several shots on goal.
In the second half, Gentry’s defense got a bit more action, but the offense still made several great passes and shots on goal. The girls were able to keep the Lady Warriors from scoring, and Ward made six saves. In the last two minutes of the game, senior Emily Hays scored the final goal for Gentry. Hays was assisted by a pass from Fowler with a perfect shot into the back right side of the goal. The girls played a fun game, winning on their senior night.
Hays shared her opinions on the game against LifeWay: “I’m so proud of all of my fellow seniors. We played a great game against LifeWay, and we were able to pull out the win and have fun as a team while doing it! I really wanted to score a goal, and I was glad I was able to on my senior night. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season to make the most of the time I have left.”
The Lady Pioneers were scheduled to next take the field at Prairie Grove. The game was Thursday, March 18, followed by the boys’ game at roughly 6:30 p.m. The girls are hoping to get familiar with the Lady Tigers on Thursday night before meeting them again in conference play.