The Bainbridge High School varsity girls and boys soccer teams hosted a pair of contests this past week, with the Bearcats winning two and the Lady Cats dropping two to Berrien County Rebels and Northside of Columbus.
Tuesday, Bainbridge took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute as freshman midfielder Leroy Rivera headed in a goal from the penalty spot on a corner kick by junior forward Emilio Hernandez.
Bainbridge extended the lead in minute 26 as Rivera threw in a pass to Hernandez, who quickly distributed to senior midfielder Luis Mejia who found a seam in the Rebel defense and struck a shot from 25 yards out to the left side of the goal for the score.
The final score of the contest came in minute 64 as Bearcat senior midfielder Daniel Provence nailed a shot from the top of the penalty area to the right side of the goal.
The score was the result of a well-placed lob pass forward by Mejia to Hernandez who then assisted the goal by passing the ball back to Provence.
In Thursday’s region contest with Northside Columbus, Bainbridge scored early in each half and played scrappy defense for the 2-0 shutout.
In minute 10 of the first half, Provence was fouled in the penalty area, where Mejia converted the penalty kick to the left side for a quick 1-0 Bearcat lead.
In the minute 42 of the second half, Bainbridge got their second goal of the game as Leroy Rivera intercepted a Patriot pass and calmly threaded a shot past the Northside defense for the goal.
The play came as the Northside goalkeeper came out of his penalty area to clear the ball on a breakaway, but Rivera intercepted the attempt.
The Patriots’ defense tracked back temporarily, but Rivera regained the ball quickly, sending it past the scrambling Patriot goalkeeper from 25 yards out.
The two wins pushed the Bearcats’ overall record at 7-0-1 on the season, and 2-0 in the region.
The Bainbridge Lady Cat soccer team dropped a tough 1-0 contest Tuesday to the Berrien County Lady Rebels and lost 6-0 to region foe Northside Columbus Lady Patriots Thursday.
Tuesday Bainbridge hosted the Lady Rebels and the Lady Cats came up on the short end of a 1-0 score.
In minute 10 of the contest, a Lady Rebel forward received a pass at the Bainbridge penalty spot.
She shot for a goal that missed the goal but an alert Berrien forward finished at the right post for a goal.
Both squads battled throughout the contest, each getting shots on goal, but saved by the goalkeepers.
Late in the contest, Bainbridge got a pass in the Berrien penalty area, but an alert deflection by the Lady Rebel defense kept the Lady Cats from scoring at the final buzzer.
Sophomore defender Tianna Miller played a great game holding Berrien’s leading scorer, a forward who came in with 13 goals, from getting few looks at the goal.
Thursday, a strong Northside Columbus contingent came to Centennial Field and took a 3-0 halftime lead into a 6-0 region victory over the Lady Cats.
The loss drops the Lady Cats’ record to 2-5-1 for the season.