Lady Cats improve to 16-0

By Zach Hayes
UCA sportswriting

The quest for a perfect season remains for the Conway soccer Lady Cats after a tough 1-0 victory against Bryant at home Tuesday.

CHS improved to 16-0 overall, 11-0 in the 7A-Central conference. The last time these two met earlier this season at Bryant, the game ended in a PK shootout. The same effort from both teams was evident again during this game.

“It was a really hard fought game," CHS coach Whitney Allison said. "Every time we play them it’s a game filled with emotion and a lot of heart.”

Neither team was able to score in the first half. The strong performance by the Lady Cats in previous weeks has been slowed somewhat the previous two games.

“It took us a while to really execute our style of play and do what we wanted again today,” Allison said.

Allison also did something she’s never done during a halftime break. After a brief rundown, she left it to her girls to talk among themselves as a team and figure out the best way to finish the game. The trust in her players worked.

With 20 minutes left in the game, the Lady Cats were on a corner kick. Caitlyn Carroll played it wide and sent it back toward the goal where Julia Pettit was waiting to score the eventual game-winning goal.

It was a play that took a lot of composure, according to Allison.

“It was a great job by both girls,” she said.

Defense was also key in keeping the Lady Hornets out of the goal. Kyndal Leffert was instrumental in stealing the ball and starting the Lady Cat offensive attacks.

The stress of the season hasn’t affected CHS so far but Allison and her team are staying prepared and taking it one game at time.

“This was a very physical game," she said. "I’m glad it’s over.”

The Lady Cats play again Thursday at Van Buren.