Panthers post shutout vs. Badger
Trending
VERNON -- Bristol spent plenty of time during Tuesday's game in the attacking third, but only got one goal to show from it. Luckily, that was all the Panthers needed as they took down Badger, 1-0, in a league matchup.
"We controlled it probably 80% of the time, and we just got unlucky down there," Bristol coach Mike Armour said. "I think we put two off of the post and just got unlucky today, but they fought through it and came through with a win."
The first, and only, goal of the game came near the midway point of the second half.
After spending much of the contest in the attacking zone, Panthers senior Brooke Perris capitalized on a netfront scrum, forcing the ball into the net.
So far through six games, that's how Bristol has had most of its success scoring.
"We've been doing a great job of just hanging out at the back post and being able to just walk it in," Armour said. "We've told the girls, you don't have to blow it through the back of the net, just get it through. They just get their bodies in front of (the ball) and take off after it."
Despite being heavily pressured throughout the game, and running just 11 players for 80 minutes without substitutions, Badger's defense was solid.
That's the most experienced group on the roster. First-year coach Kenneth Donaldson wanted to start with the defense and build out. Four games in, signs are promising, but Donaldson wants his younger girls to get as much experience as possible so they can be better for it in the future.
My first focus on the new shape was to actually get the defense nice and solid, make sure they understood how I wanted to play, then move up," Donaldson said. "You don't lose games by not scoring goals, you lose games by conceding goals, so I wanted to keep from conceding as much as possible, which we've done decently well. That's mainly our defense right now. We need to get the midfield worked up, and that's where a lot of our younger players are right now. If we can get the midfield to where they're performing well by the end of the year, when we return next year, we'll have that going for us."
Bristol moves to 4-2 on the season. It has six days to prepare for its next game, when it hosts league rival Grand Valley.
The Panthers hope to continue this hot start throughout the year, because they are eyeing another solid outing in the tournament. Succeeding in the slate of league games is where that goal begins, however.
"This group really wants to win the conference. That's our main goal," Armour said. "They want to make a little noise in the postseason too, so as long as we keep coming together as a team, I think we'll be in good shape to do that stuff."
The Braves (2-2) also play Grand Valley in their next contest, facing the Mustangs on Thursday.