Nic Fraraccio
Following a stretch of one win in seven games, the Harding women’s soccer team has caught fire during the Great American Conference (GAC) regular season.
Led by head coach Dr. Greg Harris, Harding rallied to win four GAC games in a row — propelling them to first place in the conference. The success has come on both sides of the ball for the Lady Bisons.
During the win streak, Harding scored 11 goals in four games. Senior forward Carmen Gunn leads the team with four goals.
Defensively, the Lady Bisons have only given up five goals in seven conference games. The recent success has not gone unnoticed by members of the conference.
Oct. 15, the team swept the GAC women’s soccer weekly awards. Sophomore midfielder Bailey Bulliner earned offensive player of the week, while sophomore defender Calle Citty earned defender of the week.
Citty said the streak has been a “gratifying” experience for the team.
“This year, everyone has bought into the idea,” Citty said. “We realized this is a team — we have to do this together.”
Bulliner said the early season goalscoring woes was a “mental block” for the team.
“We knew as soon as we got one goal, it was going to start rolling,” Bulliner said. “Getting that one goal just set us off.”
Finally, sophomore goalkeeper Maysa Willis took home goalkeeper of the week honors. In the most recent week of awards, freshman defender Skylar Henley earned yet another defender of the week for the Lady Bisons.
Henley said the back line feels comfortable when playing games with each other.
“I think our back line is very strong,” Henley said. “At this point, we just know how each other plays. When you move, everyone else is moving with you.”
The streak was highlighted by a 2-0 victory against Ouachita Baptist University, the 2023 women’s GAC tournament champion. Gunn and Henley scored the goals to send Harding to the top of the conference standings.
Citty said it was an awesome feeling to beat an in-state rival.
“We went into the game with a mindset,” Citty said. “If we can control this game, we can make a statement to the rest of the conference as well.”
In their most recent game, Harding’s win streak came to an end as the Lady Bisons fell to Southern Nazarene University 1-0.
As the season continues, Bulliner said the team does not want to get comfortable despite the recent streak.
“We have really made that a central part of our team,” Bulliner said. “As soon as you get comfortable — people start slacking off. We do not want that because other teams will take advantage of it.”
For their next conference clash, the Lady Bisons will host Oklahoma Baptist University tomorrow at the Stephens Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.
