women’s soccer 291 never before On the Sept. 7 game against Drury University, the Lady Bisons soccer team had lost hope. After playing most of the game without scoring a goal, the players were ready to give up. Little did they know that a huge turn around was about to occur. The turn around came in the form of three goals scored in four minutes and nine seconds to come back to win the game. Drury was leading the game 2-0. With less than eight minutes left in the game, sophomore Brianna Meek scored the Lady Bisons’ first goal. Then freshman Chelsea Brandon scored a free kick to tie up the score. Before the clock had three minutes left in the game, junior Kellie DeAtley scored the third goal to put them in the lead, 3-2. Drury got a few shots off but did not score, leading the Lady Bisons to victory. They had come back from a two-point deficit to win the game, making it their first win of the season. The team had just lost their previous two games and did not think this would be an easy matchup. Women’s soccer coach Greg Harris said they expected it to be a tough game, but were going to go in and play hard. That was exactly what this team did. The girls played hard during the first part of the game, but since they were losing by two points, they began to lose their momentum. Harris said he was upset and ready to run the girls really hard at their next practice. “We were not playing bad; we just needed something to break the ice,” Harris said. “When Brianna Meek scored the first goal, that broke the ice.” After each goal was scored, the girls began to get fired up and were ready to claim a victory. “The girls worked hard and were getting tired, but after the first goal, a little of the fire came back,” sophomore goalie Chelsea Hornbeck said. “When we got the second goal, there was a hunger in their eyes that couldn’t be stopped. After the third goal, there was no way we were going to let them get another goal and go into overtime. With each goal, I saw energy come back to the girls. A group of average girls coming together for each other to win a game is an unforgettable feeling.” The adrenaline from scoring the three goals so quickly helped the team hold Drury and win for only the second major comeback in the history of the Lady Bisons soccer team. At the end of the game, everyone was smiling — even the coach. “Any victory feels good, but this one was especially rewarding because it showed not only me, but the team as well, that you should never give up,” DeAtley said. “It is easy to give up when you are down, but I have never been so proud of the team before. We stuck together, encouraged each other and worked together to achieve something, and it was a perfect example to me of what a team is supposed to look like.” Besides the excitement from the win, the girls also learned that hard work and perseverance really paid off. Harris believed that lessons like that were some of the best things the players could get from their soccer careers. “They can apply this comeback not only to soccer but to their everyday lives,” Harris said. “It even applies to their Christian lives as well. When you are down and out, you can always come back.” The players agreed with Harris’ advice and found ways to apply the lessons they learned on the soccer field to their daily lives. “Sometimes in life you feel like you are losing,” Hornbeck said. “But at any time God can put something in your life to you give you energy and push you forward.” Bethany Loftis Lady Bisons score three goals in under five minutes to cap historic comeback Freshman midfielder Chelsea Brandon moves the ball down field against the Missouri Southern defenders in a game played on Aug. 31. Brandon was second in the team in minutes played and led the team in goals scored. Noah Darnell
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