By By TOM NYHUIS / Niles Daily Star
NILES- A wet and chilly afternoon didn't stop the Brandywine girls varsity soccer team from picking up a big Lakeland Conference win Tuesday. The Lady Cats' defeated Bridgman 3-1 to improve to 2-2 in league play and 3-5-2 overall on a rain soaked playing field.
Nicole Newman put the Lady Cats' on the board first with a shot that hit the left side of the net past Bee keeper Brandi Gareau 23 minutes into the contest. Newman was assisted on the goal by Emily Low for the 1-0 advantage.
Ten minutes later Michaela Greer extended the Bobcat lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal.
Katie Smallwood made three stops in the first half to allow her team to hold onto the 2-0 lead at the half.
Kaley Jones pounded the ball in late in the second half to add to the lead 3-0. Alexa Perry picked up the assist.
With 1:36 to play the Lady Bees' found the back of their net off the foot of Ariel Piotter.
Playing conditions were hampered by a steady cold rain the entire game. Brandywine finished the afternoon taking six shots on goal while Bridgman fired seven. Smallwood finished the night recording five saves and Gareau tallied three.
"It was a huge win for our team tonight," Brandywine coach Evan Winkler said. "A real gutty performance in the cold and rainy weather. This was a must win game for us if we wanted to stay in the hunt for a conference title. The girls responded to the challenge tonight and played a great game, especially in the first half. I knew it was important to start out strong and get a goal first.
"We passed the ball really well in the first half and Nicole Newman scored a great goal in the corner after some beautiful passing. Michaela Greer scored her first goal of the season to put us up 2-0 going into the second half. Kaley Jones who has been playing really well this season put the game out of reach with a great goal from about 35 yards out. There is no easy game in the Lakeland this season. The second half of the season is going to be exciting," he added.
Bridgman…1
Brandywine…3
Halftime Score
Brandywine 2, Bridgman 0
First Half
BW – Nicole Newman 24:44 (Emily Low assist)
BW – Michaela Greer 33:41
Second Half
BW – Kaley Jones 75:19 (Alexa Perry assist)
BR – Ariel Piotter 78:24
Shots on Goal
Brandywine 6, Bridgman 7
Saves
Brandywine 5 (Katie Smallwood)
Bridgman 3 (Brandi Gareau).