Lady Bulldogs are outscored by Duanesburg in second half
By Jordan J. Michael
BERNE Soccer games can take sharp turns in a short time. On Friday, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo girls’ team was on the wrong end of one of those turns.
The Lady Bulldogs were up, 1 to 0, at halftime, after a goal by Makayla McCormick in the ninth minute. But, the visiting Duanesburg team came to life in the second half and scored three unanswered goals, two of which came within one minute.
Senior Ashlyn McGarry tied the game up for the Eagles when she dribbled through four BKW defenders and buried a shot past goalkeeper Tuesday Bishop. About 40 seconds later, Grace Rutagengwa got hold of the ball and beat Bishop for a 2-to-1 lead.
“They came out really strong after the break,” said the Bulldogs’ Sam Harvey after the game. “I don’t think we played that bad on defense, but there are things we have to work on.”
Rutagengwa made the score 3 to 1 in the 62nd minute after she beat the defense to the outside and put a shot past an outstretched Tuesday Bishop.
“Duanesburg has some fast players on offense,” said BKW Head Coach Coriellen Travis. “They used the speed to beat us.”
Bishop, who usually heads the defense as the sweeper back, has been playing in goal the past few games for Liz Harvey. Harvey has been out with a concussion after being kicked in the head during a save in a previous game.
Sam Harvey, who is Liz Harvey’s older sister, has been playing sweeper back in place of Bishop. “Liz being out is definitely hurting us,” Sam Harvey said. “Hopefully, she’ll be back soon.”
“Liz’s absence has a huge effect on our team,” Travis said. “But, we appreciate the effort that Bishop is showing.”
Friday’s loss dropped BKW’s record to 4-6-1 in the Western Athletic Conference South and the team traveled to Middleburgh yesterday for a game. Sam Harvey said that the Bulldogs need to focus on not letting down when BKW already has the lead.
“I think today was an improvement, even though we lost the score,” Harvey said. “We just need to work on intensity and work together.”
“We need more aggression,” Travis added.