Hickman walked away with a 1-0 win against the Bruins, who were seeded second behind the Kewpies, at Muriel Battle High School in the Class 4 MSHSAA district tournament yesterday, May 16 at 6 p.m.
Despite the abrupt end to their season, the Bruins (11-9-1) who were underclassmen  knew this loss would only encourage them to do better in the next coming season. For the seven seniors, however, this was a emotional night.
“I’ve learned so many valuable lessons through playing, and made so many friendships and memories that I won’t forget,” senior midfielder Grace Danielle said. “This season and almost every season I’ve played at Rock Bridge was kind of a roller coaster of emotions for me. Like every team, we had ups and downs, but every season was fun, and I’ve always felt like everyone was in it to win. I’ve never been on a bad Rock Bridge team.”
Throughout the night the Lady Bruins guarded their territory like it was their life. With 9:42 left in the first quarter, there was not a goal made by neither the Rock Bridge Bruins team or the Hickman Kewpies. Junior Morgan Boussad, the goalie for the Bruins, and junior Allison Keys as the goalie for the Kewpies, they went hand in hand to see who will miss their block first. It was just a matter of time before the right kick was made,  and the goalie wasn’t ready for it. The Bruins were confident in Boussad’s ability to do the best she could in any situation given to her.
In the second quarter the ball was kicked to the center line right to a Hickman player. With lightning speed, she passed it to junior Hannah Larson who swiftly kicked the ball in Boussad’s direction. Boussad jumped up, making contact with the ball, and tried to push it away from getting in the net when things turned south. The ball went over Boussad’s hands at an awkward angle making this game a 1-0 lead for the Hickman Kewpies with 12 minutes left on the clock.
“Morgan is a very capable keeper! She’s made some amazing saves and seems very confident guarding the net,”  Sophomore forward, Istahil Omar said. “What happened in our game was a mistake that could happen to anyone. We’re all very proud of her and  what she accomplished this season. It was a heartbreaking moment. It was such a simple mistake. Nobody blames Morgan. It was a deflection, which isn’t her or anyone else’s fault. It was so sad to have such a small thing cost us a game we could have won.”
The Lady Bruins knew they had to make a comeback to fight for the winning spot. As the clock counted down, the Bruins fought harder and harder to pull of a win or a tie, which could lead to overtime, but it was not to be for the team.
Though this loss put a damper on the team’s standings, this only motivated the Lady Bruins to try harder and come back better than ever in next year.
“As our season is now over, looking back, I see how far we came and how close we’ve become,” Omar said. “The whole team will miss the seniors so much, but we still have a lot to work on for next year.” [penci_image_gallery style_block_title=”style-title-11″ images=”314972,314971,314970,314969,314966,314965,314964,314963,314958,314957,314956,314954,314953,314952,314950,314949″ auto_time=”4000″ speed=”800″ block_title_align=”style-title-left” custom_markup_1=””]