Brandywine girls soccer Evan Winkler wasn’t bothered the most by his team’s execution in a 4-0 Lakeland Conference loss Wednesday to Bridgman.

“I think the biggest thing that concerned me was our effort,” said Winkler, whose team fell to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the Lakeland. “I didn’t think we really came to play. We were on our heels and just kind of going through the motions. We were lackadaisical. Everybody was like that.”

Bridgman took advantage of Brandywine’s lethargic play before most players even gained a sweat in the warm temperatures. Cassie Amicarelli scored from 10 yards to give the Bees a 1-0 lead with 38:35 left in the first half.

Momentum stayed with Bridgman the rest of the first half. Brittney Doehrer scored twice on assists from Katie Hartzler to give the Bees a 3-0 halftime lead.  Doehrer’s first goal with 28:52 left in the first half was a tipped in shot off a cross from Hartzler. Doehrer’s second goal came inside five yards with 2:18 left in the first half.

“Bridgman brought it,” Winkler said. “They were aggressive and won every ball. They were able to dictate their play that way.”

The Bees had all 11 shots on goal and the lone corner kick in the first half.

“I talked to our team at halftime and told them we needed to have more energy, start playing better and string more passes together,” Winkler said.

Initially, to start the second half, Brandywine continued its sluggish play. Bridgman had the first four shots in the second half with the second shot producing a third goal by Doehrer with 34:34 left in the match. The shot came from five yards and hit off the side of Doehrer’s body.

Doehrer has now scored four of Bridgman’s five goals this year.

“(Doehrer) worked really hard today,” said Bridgman coach Woody Woolery, whose team improved to 2-5-1 overall and 1-0 in the Lakeland. “She plays in the midfield and is one of my two seniors. She tries to control the center and get in on the attack when she has to. She’s one of our leaders out there.”

Eight of the final nine shots in the match came from Brandywine. The Bobcats also had two scoring chances off of Brooke Smith’s corner kicks.

“We had a little bit more energy in the second half, which was nice to see,” Winkler said. “I thought we had good shots. We just weren’t getting enough power on the shots to really put enough pressure on the goalie where she had to make a stop.”

Winkler is having to bring along a very young team. The Bobcats, who have beaten River Valley twice and Berrien Springs once, have eight freshmen on their varsity roster with Elizabeth Hensler their lone senior.

“I have to have a lot of patience,” Winkler said. “They’re catching on to stuff. We’ve been playing a little bit better than we have in the past. Today, we took a step back. I thought we played very good last Friday against Bangor (2-0 loss), which is kind of the same caliber as Bridgman. When you’re young, you’re going to have some ups and downs. You’ve just got to keep teaching them and, hopefully, I can get them to play the right way.”

 

Bridgman…4

Brandywine…0

Halftime score

Bridgman 3, Brandywine 0

 

First half

BR – Cassie Amicarelli 38:35

BR – Brittney Doehrer (Katie Hartzler) 28:52

BR – Doehrer (Hartzler) 2:18

 

Second half

BR – Doehrer 34:34

 

Shots on goal

Bridgman 16, Brandywine 8

 

Saves

BR – 4 (Megan Adams)

BW – 4 (Sloan Kangas)

 

Corner kicks

Brandywine 2, Bridgman 1