The Bainbridge Bearcat soccer team lost a nail-biting match by a 4-3 score on Friday, March 1st to the Harris County Tigers at Centennial Field in Bainbridge.

The Bearcats opened the game up in command as they were able to dominate possession and play on the Harris County end of the field while creating promising scoring opportunities.  However, the Tigers were able to weather the storm and gain some momentum of their own as they began to mount attacks on the Bearcat goal. 

In the 18th minute, the Tigers scored on a throw-in opportunity to gain a 1-0 advantage on the Bearcats. 

The score damaged the confidence of the Bearcat players to some extent as they had been in control for most of the match leading up to the Harris County breakthrough, but the team continued to work hard to regain control.  In the 23rd minute, following a miscue by Bearcat defenders, Harris County struck for another goal.  The score remained 2-0 as the teams went to halftime. 

When the second period began, the Bearcats struggled to match the intensity in which they opened the game, and the Tigers took advantage.  In the 54th minute, a Harris County attacking player was fouled in the Bearcat penalty area, and earned a penalty kick.  He converted the opportunity to extend the Harris County lead to 3 – 0. 

With about fifteen minutes remaining in the match, Nix McIntosh and Mason Ard swapped positions.  McIntosh moved to forward, and Ard moved into the midfield.  The swap paid off almost immediately as Ard played a through ball to Caleb Harris in the 67th minute, and Harris got the Bearcats on the board.  The score seemed to ignite Bainbridge’s confidence once again, as they added another goal in the 72nd minute from Nix McIntosh, who was assisted by Cesar Chiguil from a direct kick opportunity. 

Only moments later, in the 73rd minute, McIntosh scored the equalizing goal from an assist from Caleb Harris.  Not to be outdone, however, Harris County managed to answer in the 74th minute for the go-ahead goal.  As the clock was expiring, the Bearcats earned a corner kick to try to equalize, but the opportunity was thwarted by the Harris County defense.  The exciting match ended with the Bearcats coming up just short of pulling a miraculous come-back.

Coach Rick Lewis and Jamie Ard’s assessment of the match was that the team played in dominant fashion for about twenty of the possible eighty minutes of the match.  If the team can harness such energy and play with such dominance for the full eighty minutes, this team will be hard to defeat. 

We just have to keep working to play a full eighty minutes.  Focus and determination will be huge factors in doing so as the team looks to live up to potential.