Written by Sarah Kyle and Alexandra McClain
The Harding women’s soccer team began the 2010 season at home last Saturday, kicking off the year with a 3-1 win over regional opponent Palm Beach Atlantic.Saturday’s game marked the first time since 2007 that the team opened a season with a win.Key players were sophomore midfielder Lauren Hawes, who shot both the first goal of the game and her first career goal at Harding, freshman forward Adriana Lucar and junior forward Paola Eusse, who made her fourth career goal at Harding.Eusse returned to the Lady Bisons this year after a knee injury last season, but said she was pleased to find herself strong and healthy for her junior season.As for her team, Eusse said she feels confident that the Lady Bisons will continue to play hard and have a successful last season in the Gulf South Conference.”I believe our team chemistry is wonderful right now, and I think it showed on Saturday,” Eusse said. “We dominated the ball most of the game and kept the high pressure on the other team. We were focused and we wanted to win.”In a postgame interview with HardingSports.com, Coach Greg Harris said the team’s cohesiveness and on-field grit will continue to aid them throughout the season.”That’s a Harding thing,” Harris said. “That’s what we do: We go out and we play hard. These girls here bought into the tradition and they fought hard.”The women lost 0-4 at Arkansas Pine Bluff on Tuesday.The Lady Bisons will play the Florida Institute of Technology today at 5:30 p.m.The men’s team also faced Palm Beach Atlantic last Saturday, opening the season with a 0-2 loss when PBA scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of the game.The Bisons will travel to Williams Baptist Sept. 14.
