Lady Bruins top Danville

By Jackie Paquette

Tri-West ran away with the win in a matchup of last year’s Sagamore Conference first and second teams. The Bruins bested Danville 5-2 behind a pair of goals and four assists from senior forward Kylee Bennett.
“This is basically the same team as last year, so they have one season under their belt as far as being comfortable with each other,” Bruin Head Coach Jeff Sloan said. “This is a challenge playing Danville this early in the season. It is a disadvantage to both of us.”
The Bruins controlled play for most of the game, and made it clear they were in charge from the get-go. The first two Tri-West goals were scored in the first four minutes of the game. Sophomore Erica Graphman found the back of the net first on an assist from Bennett, sending the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal from about 10 yards out just after the 38-minute mark. Bennett then scored her first goal of the afternoon about two minutes later, sending a ball from her sister, Megan Bennett, into the back right corner of the net just past the keeper.
“We moved the ball very well,” Sloan said. “We have been working very hard on controlling the flow of the game.”
Danville got on the board just before the end of the first half, with freshman Jordyn Kyle scoring the first of her two goals of the day with 2:41 to play. Kyle took a rebound off of a shot by senior Danni Bishop that ricocheted off the crossbar and fired it back in at close range for the score, sending the teams into the intermission with the Bruins ahead, 2-1.
“She [Kyle] has a lot to bring,” Danville Head Coach Jeanette Waterman said. “She is learning from the upperclassmen. I think we will see a lot of good things come out of her in the future.”
The Bruins reestablished their control of the game with a goal just more than three minutes into the second period. Graphman found the net yet again on a ball from Kylee Bennett, scoring into the upper right corner of the net from about 20 yards out.
Kylee Bennett would then score her second of the day about eight minutes later on an assist from sophomore Alexa Avry. Bennett took a ball crossed from the right side and sent it back across the net past Danville’s Emily Wolff for the score.
“Danville always plays strong,” Sloan said. “There is nothing that is going to be a freebie, so we have to take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. We did a really good job here today. I am really pleased.”
Kyle scored her second goal of the day 10 minutes later, finding the net from about 20 yards out. She took the shot from the right side and snuck the ball past Bruin junior netminder Emily Devore into the left side of the goal, making the score 4-2.
Senior Eileen Buss would close out the afternoon’s scoring, taking a ball served about 20 yards out of the box from Kylee Bennett in the 57th minute and sending it into the upper left corner of the goal, over Wolff’s hands.
“Eileen had a great afternoon, we are really pushing for our halfbacks to take that stroke and see where it goes,” Sloan said.
On the day, Tri-West took 26 shots to the Warriors’ 10. Devore made four saves in the net, while allowing both Danville goals. Wolff made nine saves on the afternoon while allowing the last three of the Bruin goals in relief of senior Whitney Baeznziger. The starting Warrior keeper made a pair of saves while allowing the first two Tri-West scores.
We just need to work together. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose. We just have to regroup and try again.