[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith 24 seconds remaining in the game, senior forward Payton McCallister scored her second goal of the night, giving the Bruins a (2-1) victory over Blue Springs South High School. The team is now [7-1] on the season.
Even with a late goal that secured the victory, head coach Gary Drewing believed all along the Lady Bruins could pull off the win. He said when the score was (1-1) and both teams were creating chances and competing, the Bruins came up with a big play to win the game.
“Blue Springs South is a very good team and we had been competing hard for 79 minutes,” Drewing said. “It takes special players with a winning mindset to make the final play with time running out.  Everyone is tired, its a matter of who wants to win more.  We have several players on the team that can compete at that level, and come through with a big play when their team needs it.”
The next game is April 7, where the Bruins will match up against the Lindbergh Flyers.
“After we scored the last goal everyone was so happy because we pretty much had won at the point,” McCallister said. “We were happy to win most of all, but also get out of the cold and not have to go to over time.”
Alongside McCallister is senior teammate and left defense Paige Lafferty, who has been playing soccer for the Bruins for four years. Lafferty, and the five other seniors playing varsity have played on the same team together since they started competitive soccer in second grade. Knowing that this is Lafferty’s last year with the other seniors and her teammates has made Lafferty’s time on the field even more special.
[quote]“We knew Blue Springs South was going to be tough competition and I feel like we really came together as a team to pull off the win,” Lafferty said. “Knowing that we can use the drills and all the hard work we put in at practice, and transfer it into game situations gives us a lot of confidence for the next game and games to come.”[/quote] Winning this tough, close game has set the team up to know they can compete well, McCallister said. With the recent irregularity in weather conditions, McCallister said the cold doesn’t make anything much harder, but it can make playing more miserable. Because the team had trained hard all week in both good and bad weather, McCallister said she knew the team was ready to compete.
“Every game has a new set of challenges to overcome,” Drewing said. “The next time we are in close game with a quality team we have the experience to know we have been that situation before, and that experience breeds confidence.”
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