The women’s soccer team looks for a win on Oct. 18 against Lyon College after defeating Northwestern State University this past Sunday.
Junior forward Jenna Taylor converted two penalty kicks in Sunday’s game to lead the team to a 2-1 victory. The Lady Bisons improved to 5-4-2 overall and remain in second place in the GAC standings.
Taylor has been out the last four games with an injury but came back strong to help the Lady Bisons get the win.
The last time the Lady Bisons took more than one penalty kick in a game was in 2002, at Ouachita Baptist. Sunday’s game was the third time it has happened in Harding history, and the first time a Harding player has made both kicks.
The Lady Bisons did not give up and went into double-overtime to beat NSU.
“Our girls just kept pressuring and pressuring on Sunday,” head coach Greg Harris said. “We didn’t have the scoring touch in the flow of play, but when you keep pressing good things happen. That is how we received the two penalty kicks.”
Taylor said that she expects the team to continue growing closer together and improving this season.
“We’ve been working hard and I think by the end of the year we could be a real threat to go deeper into the postseason than a lot of people expect,” Taylor said.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, Harris is optimistic the team can handle anything thrown their way.
“I’m confident in our ability to play any team,” Harris said. “We now play everyone in conference again starting tonight.I’m interested to see how the ladies respond to other teams knowledge of how we play. The second time is always tougher, and the other teams have something to prove. I want to see how hungry our girls are.”
As the women take on Lyon, there are a few key things they must remember.
“We will have to continue high pressuring, keep the communication the entire game, possess the ball and just battle out every 50/50 ball,” senior defender Lauren Scharf said. “This team might not have many upperclassmen or speed but we have passion to finish on top even if it means in double overtime.”
The Lady Bisons will face off against the Lyon College Scots Thursday at 4 p.m. on the Harding soccer field.
