Lady Bears Beat Reinhardt 2-1 for Fifth Straight Conference Victory

The Lady Bears hosted conference rival, the Lady Eagles from Reinhardt University, Wednesday afternoon. TMU had not been beaten or even scored on up to this point in conference play this season, while the Lady Eagles came into the match with a 3-1-1 record. 

Early on in the match the Lady Bears were able to muster up a few chances and fire off six shots by the twenty-sixth minute, but all of these would either miss the target or be saved. The first goal of the match would be scored by Reinhardt off a penalty kick given to the Lady Eagles because of a tripping foul called in the penalty box in the twenty-ninth minute. This goal ended a stretch of over three hundred and eighty minutes in which the Lady Bears had not conceded a goal in conference play, but they were able to keep their composure and the Lady Bears did not allow another goal for the remainder of the half. The score going into halftime was 1-0. 

The Lady Bears' pursuit of an equalizer would not take long. In just the forty-ninth minute, Lauren Huston sent in the ball to Jessica Lanier who was able to put the ball in the back of the net, leveling the scoreline at 1-1. The tie score did not cause TMU to relax, but they remained hungry to score again. In the seventy-eighth minute, Tori Wilson gave the Lady Bears the lead they had been striving for with a well-struck ball that was able to navigate its way past the Reinhardt defense and GK. The Lady Eagles tried to find an equalizer of their own, but all their attempts would be foiled thanks to a superb save by GK Ashlyn Walloch and great play by the Lady Bears' defense. 

"The girls showed a lot of character and desire to come back from a goal down," said coach David McDowell after the game. "I'm proud of them for sticking together and showing that extra bit of grit to get the result." The Lady Bears' next match will be at home against Columbia College on Saturday October 7th at 2 pm.