CULLMAN – The Lady Bearcats hosted Gadsden City Friday night for what ended up being a nail-biter of a match in the final few minutes after a slow first half.
Cullman dropped its second match of the season to go to 5-2-1 after coming back late in the second half to tie the game before the Lady Titans scored in the seventh minute to take a 3-2 lead and the win.
Gadsden City got out to a lead early with a goal in the first few minutes of the game and then scored again with just two minutes left in the first half to take a solid lead into the half. The Lady Bearcats were able to hold their own in time of possession during the first half but couldn’t capitalize on any of their scoring opportunities.
The second half started off similar to the first as Cullman struggled to get through the Lady Titans’ defense and find the back of the net. The Lady Bearcats held up on the defensive end and finally got on the scoreboard in the 18th minute when Abby Branham got behind the defense on a pass from Jeta Falcon and cut the Gadsden City lead to one. It took Branham just nine minutes to tie the game when she broke free on a perfect through-ball from Ninfa Moreno that split two defenders.
The Lady Titans responded and with just seven minutes to play. The Lady Bearcats had a chance with just a couple minutes to squeeze in a shot close to the net, but Gadsden City was able to clear the ball and secure the 3-2 win.
Despite his team coming up short, Lady Bearcats Head Coach Jacob Brown was proud of the way his squad fought back and gave itself a chance to win the game against a quality opponent.
“Our girls played a phenomenal game. That was a bigger, faster, older, stronger team and we played lights out,” Brown said. “We went down 2-0 and our rule each half is to go out and win second half. Did not care about the win or loss but try to win the half. And we did that by tying it up 2-2. Unfortunately, they scored again but that’s OK. There are very few games where you lose and you’re happy, but this is one of those games. I am very, very proud of the girls. We played great soccer and proved we can compete with some of the best teams in the state.”
The young Lady Bearcats will try to build on tonight’s effort when they get back on the field to host Florence Saturday at noon.
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