Thresher soccer loses and ties with the Valor
Women's soccer loses 2-1 while the men settle with one point apiece with a score of 3-3 after last-minute drama
On Saturday the Thresher soccer teams took on Evangel at home and came away with the women losing 2-1 and the men tying 3-3.
The Bethel women's soccer team started this past Saturday at 11 a.m. to take on the Evangel Valor. Evangel sat at 3-3 in the KCAC, with the Lady Threshers at 2-3-1.
It was a busy start to the game on Saturday, as Beth Lloyd earned her seventh goal of the season in the 32nd minute. The junior striker from Manchester, England, is leaving an exciting mark on the Thresher season. Lloyd is a transfer from Ittawamba Community College, where she had 29 goal contributions in her two-year stint in Fulton, Mo., with 14 goals and 15 assists. After her performance on Saturday, Lloyd was named KCAC Offensive Player of the Week for her first time this season.
Only two minutes later, though, Evangel would grab a goal of their own and make the score 1-1. The Valor would finalize their win in the 50th minute, making the end score 2-1, sending Evangel back home with a record of 4-3.
After a tough run, motivation can be hard to spark in a team, but head coach Ignacio Milla is hopeful to maintain positivity in the team and move on to a winning season.
“We wanted to win, but I think we find motivation in the progress we have seen as a team. Soccer is cruel sometimes because you don't always get what you deserve, but it is at the tough moments where you see the character of your individuals and your team as a whole,” Added Milla. “We felt we were better than the opposition on Saturday but couldn't get the result. It is what it is; we go back, look at our mistakes, and prepare for Wednesday.”
An added note on how this loss felt to the Threshers comes from captain Olivia Allen, a senior defender from Wichita, transferring into Bethel from Barton Community College. When asked about how she is feeling after the loss, and what she does to give motivation to the team, she stated:
“I took that loss hard because we needed a win, but we are still a very young and new team still understanding how everyone plays. I’m so proud of how hard we all fought, especially since we have some girls injured or gone this past game. I remind the girls that we are still correcting our mistakes and learning from games. We are such a talented team, and we still have plenty of time in our season left to show how much we have improved from previous years. I can feel the competitive spirit within each girl on the team. We are not done yet.”
The men's side was next up to face the Valor; their record coming into the game against the Threshers was 3-3. In a game with many ups and downs, no team could gain the upper hand, as Bethel and Evangel settled for a 3-3 tie.
Thresher captain Lucas Pardo, a fifth-year senior midfielder from Montevideo, Uruguay, was also asked about how he will motivate his team after this tie. Pardo stated:
“It was a tough tie since we controlled the game for the most part and we lost focus and conceded similar goals. The good thing is that we had a quick reaction and managed to not take a loss at home. The team knows what we are capable of, we know the position that we are in now. We need to keep working hard and focus on the little things that can make a huge difference in the game. Now we must work on ourselves and look forward to the next games that will be very important to determine where we will finish this year on the table.”
The Threshers struck first in the 17th minute, thanks to who else, but Filip Maksimovic, a sophomore striker from Belgrade, Serbia. Maksimovic would fire in a goal once more to make his goal tally to 11 on his season. After his performance last week, Maksimovic was named KCAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. His second and final goal against Evangel would come after the Valor got a goal of their own. This would leave the score at 2-1 after the 53rd minute.
After the three goals, the game was possessed mainly by the Threshers, but when the 86th minute struck, Evangel would equalize with a cross to the back post, and Valor's attacker placed it into the top corner with his first touch. Only one minute later Evangel would grab the lead, with an identical ball played into the back post once more. Evangel thought they completed their perfect comeback; however, one minute after Valor's third goal, Panagiotis Charaloumbous, a freshman from Limassol, Cyprus, would find the back of the net in the 88th minute. This would be the last goal of the game, setting the final score at 3-3.
“This game means less motivation in the short term and more in the long term, for sure. Dropping points on Saturday hurt. However, we are getting closer to the playoffs, and motivation needs to be high,” said head coach Luka Milicevic. “We need to take things one game at a time. We are sitting in third right now, I believe, which is good. Lots of teams are breathing down our necks, so we have to bounce back with a win on Wednesday.”
Both of Bethel’s soccer teams will go again this Wednesday, October 16th. They will travel to Hillsboro to take on their rivals, the Tabor Blue Jays. The Tabor women are currently sitting in ninth place in the KCAC standings, with the men in eleventh place. The women will begin at 5:00 p.m. and the men will follow shortly after at 7:00 p.m.