NEW MARKET — A pair of second half goals by each team led to a 1-1 tie between Benton Central and Southmont in girls’ soccer action on Tuesday night.
“We played great tonight against another great team,” Southmont coach Phil Keller said. “They possessed the ball well. Good passes and they get through the lines well. To be able to tie a good team like that still feels good because we played great.”
Marissa Craig scored on a deflection with 22 minutes left in the second half to put the Mounties (2-7-1) up 1-0. The score came on one of just a couple of shots on goal Southmont was able to square up against the Bison.
“Good hustle and a desire to win,” Keller said about Craig. “That’s exactly what you want out of a forward. She’s got the desire to score a goal and win it for the team.”
Benton Central responded with a goal by Tressa Senesac with just seven minutes to play on a breakaway. Ava Sayre lined up for a penalty kick after a Southmont foul in the final 10 seconds, but the shot was blocked by Mountie goalie Belle Miller.
The Bison (8-3-2) put 17 shots on goal, giving Miller 16 saves for the game from the net.
Defense has kept Southmont in games all season long, and Keller expects the same as the Mounties conclude the regular season with a trip to South Vermillion on Thursday, before starting their quest for a fourth-straight sectional title next week at Cascade against the Wildcats in a rematch of the regular season finale.
“It’s always been my philosophy to have a defensive mindset. Obviously if you don’t get scored on, you can’t lose,” he said. “It’s going to be important especially on Thursday playing a team that we will play in the first game of the sectional, so it will be important that we put a zero on them.”
Miller and the Mounties have allowed just 23 goals all season.
