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Heart-breaking loss ends strong season for Lady Bearcats

LU women's soccer team optimistic about 2010 with 26 players due to return

Christin Moss

GREENWOOD – The Lander women’s soccer team made a tremendous turnaround in 2009. But the Lady Bearcats can’t get the last few seconds of the season out of their minds.

"It is emblazoned in my head," Lander junior midfielder Christin Moss said. "I can remember it from 30 seconds on, every single second."

The Lady Bearcats were eliminated from the Peach Belt Conference Tournament in the semifinals in cruel fashion when Armstrong Atlantic State scored a tie-breaking goal with exactly one second left last Friday.

One more second, and the game would have gone into overtime. And had Lander won the game, it would have faced eighth seed Montevallo for the PBC Tournament championship on Sunday.

"If we went to overtime, we had the momentum and there's no doubt that we would have beaten them," said Lander sophomore forward Christina Barbour, who was the team’s leading scorer on the season.

A win over Armstrong might have put the Lady Bearcats into this week’s NCAA Tournament. And a PBC championship definitely would have.

Still, after finishing 7-9-1 overall and 2-5-1 in the Peach Belt in 2008, Lander improved to 11-4-2 overall in 2009, including 6-3-1 in the PBC. And 26 of its 27 players are eligible to return in 2010.

After being outscored 26-18 last season, the Lady Bearcats outscored opponents 35-12 in 2009, including a school-record nine shutouts. Lander nearly doubled its scoring output while giving up half as many goals.

But with Peach Belt rivals Columbus State and Armstrong Atlantic being nationally ranked, the Lady Bearcats needed to at least reach the PBC Tournament championship game to qualify for the NCAAs.

Lander, which lost to Armstrong 3-0 earlier in the season when Moss was out with an injury (the only time the team lost by more than one goal), trailed 1-0 going into the final minutes of the semifinals.

With about 15 minutes remaining, Lander upped the pressure and finally got the equalizer in the 82nd minute. The Pirates failed to clear the ball, Barbour got the loose ball, and passed it to Kendall Couch right in front of the net for the game-tying goal.

With approximately 25 seconds remaining in regulation, Peach Belt Player of the Year Kristin Burton dribbled in and took a shot from the left flank that deflected off of a Lander defender for a corner kick.

Burton hurriedly retrieved the ball and sent a corner kick into the box from the left side with only eight seconds remaining. Armstrong's Lianne Stricklen got a head on the ball and it wound up in the right far corner with one second left, giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead. The clock expired right after the restart and Lander’s season was over.

"I have to run because I have to get out the anger," Moss said, thinking about that last play.

But the loss takes nothing away from what was a spectacular turnaround for Coach Chris Ayer’s team.

Moss and Barbour said the players were tired of losing, and a large group of newcomers raised the team’s level of play.

"I think that the returners who came back this year knew we had a rough season last year," she said. "So we worked hard in the offseason. We all knew we had a big freshman class coming in and some transfers who brought in a whole new dynamic to our team."

"We were tired of what happened last year," Barbour added. "You don't want to lose a bunch of games. It's miserable."

As Ayer predicted during the preseason, the depth made a big difference.

"Last year, we had a small freshman class and I think some people felt like ‘I don't have much competition. I know I'll have my position,’" Barbour said. "This year, everybody had to fight because we had three to four people for each position."

"We were a pretty deep group (in 2009)," Ayer said. "We have options. Everybody brings a little bit of a different component. Depending on the teams that we played against, we were able to utilize different lineups.

"Last year, we were decimated by injuries and red-shirting kids," the coach continued. "We didn't have enough healthy players. If you have the ability to play and are mentally and physically healthy, you can get things done. Last year, we had lost seven starters by about the eighth game. This year we were able to maintain pretty good health.

"We had difference makers at every position. I think everybody had confidence in one another in that you weren't going to be worried about that one spot. We could replace somebody if they needed a breather. Our level didn't drop."

The Lady Bearcats had only 18 goals in 17 matches in 2008 with the leading scorers – Jannica Finnberg and Andrea Camere – only having four apiece. But Finnberg ran out of eligibility, Camere did not return, and Lander’s roster going into this season only had seven goals.

But Barbour had nine goals and two assists, East Carolina transfer Jamie Shaw recorded eight goals and five assists, Moss scored five times and had three assists, Couch had three goals and an assist, and Kelley Maupin added two goals and four assists.

Moss said the offensive improvement, ironically, was in part due to a stronger defense.

"I think we got more stable in our defense. And so when you feel safe and confident in your defense, it is so much easier for players to get forward and be creative," Moss said.

"Last year, personally, I felt like I was on defense the whole time," she continued. "We were always on our heels. This year, we were stable. I even got up in the attack some. We had great forwards. Barbour did great. Jamie Shaw brought a new big, tall person to the attack."

Lander posted shutouts in nine of its 17 matches. The nine games (including two double-overtime scoreless ties) covered 850 minutes, with Chelsea Beetch in goal for 692 of those minutes, Rachel Baggett 111 minutes, and Katherine Baltz 38-plus minutes. Beetch posted five shutouts, Baggett had one, and the other three were split.

"Chelsea made some spectacular saves. And we did a lot better defending as a team," Barbour said. "Beetch had a lot of confidence in her defense. When you have a connection with your defense as a goalkeeper, that helps a lot. You can definitely tell they had it."

Defensively, starting backs Rachel Datz, Sam Vickers, Ashton Tatum, and Katie Finkle led the way with the team’s only senior, Dani Smith, getting a lot of minutes as well.

Another bright spot is a roster that included the one senior, eight juniors, six sophomores and 12 freshmen. That, Moss said, will make the transition into 2010 easier.

"One of the hardest things about college is you only get to play with each other for a little amount of time and you get new people that you have to get used to," Moss said. "When I was younger, I played on a club team for 10 years so I knew exactly how every girl would play. If she made some sort of gesture, I knew where she was going. When you get here, you have to learn everybody’s style. With so many people coming back, it will be easier."

Assistant coach Jacob Wyman believes the Lady Bearcats can build on this year and use the heart-breaking tournament loss to their advantage.

"The way the season ended has changed the way we look at ourselves, the way we will approach the spring season, the way our returning players will handle their summer workouts on their own," Wyman said.

"Because when we come back in the fall, there will be no doubt what we want to do. Anything less than going to that (PBC Tournament) championship game would be underachieving."

The Lady Bearcats believe they might have received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament had they advanced past Armstrong Atlantic. But that isn’t the only reason why the loss is still so tough to take.

"It was a bitter feeling because it was the end of a very good season. I think that is what hurt the most," Wyman said. "The way we lost was bad. But we thought we had a fighting chance. The whole fact that the season was coming to an end was the worst feeling. That’s the feeling we don’t want (next year). We knew we were a bubble team (for the NCAAs) and we knew that with a win there, we would have had a better chance."

Wyman, like the players, is looking forward to 2010.

"I think we are going to have a great group of girls going forward. Any soccer fans, especially any of the young girls who are wanting to see good women’s soccer, if you find yourself in Greenwood, you will be in the right place," Wyman said.

"The future is bright," Ayer said. "The offseason is going to tell a lot about who we are. I hope we use the semifinal loss as motivation."