11/4/17
CLEVELAND, GA. |Lady Bears Move On to Conference Semi-Finals for Third Straight Season
No doubt the Lady Bears have had tremendous success under the leadership of Coach David McDowell, and they were looking to build on that success once more by advancing to their visit to the conference semi-finals in as many years. This task would not be easy as TMU faced conference rival Reinhardt University. Both teams have become accustomed to facing each other in marque contests, and both teams were hungry to improve on their impressive campaigns throughout the 2017 season.
The Lady Bears continued to find multiple opportunities to score, just like they did throughout the regular season. Throughout the match, TMU outshot Reinhardt taking fifteen shots to RU’s seven. The Lady Bears were the first to convert one of their shots into the goal in the twenty-second minute. Jessica Lanier rocketed the ball into the goal, thanks to a great cross from Jennifer McCall. Due to great play from the Lady Bears, they held their opponent scoreless and went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The second half was more closely contested than the first with neither team really getting to fully grasp momentum. Reinhardt managed to tie the game in the seventy-sixth minute, but that tie would not last long. The Lady Bears’ work ethic really showed as they responded to RU’s equalizer by working beautifully together which led to a goal by Senior Katey Griggs of a superb assist from Jessica Lanier in the seventy-eighth minute. Reinhardt was not able to find another equalizer, much less a shot, after that point in the match, resulting in the Lady Bears defeating Reinhardt 2-1.
“The girls have been outstanding all season and showed today again how good they are against strong opposition,” said Coach David McDowell. “We moved the ball very well, created good chances and defended superbly as a team. I was really happy with our response after they tied it up. It showed the determination and mental strength of this group. We are very excited to keep going!” The Lady Bears will go on the road to take on Bryan College Tuesday, November 7th in the conference semi-finals. A time for the match has not yet been set
