Page 16 November 13, 1989 The Clarion
Women *s sedsoti ends after 7 OTmardthon loss
by Jock Lauterer
C.larum -lih iMir
Call it Heartbreak Valley.
The wind-swept soccer field of Lees-
McRae saw the bitter end to two brilliant
seasons for the men’s and women’s soccer
teams of Brevard College — both of whom
lost to the Bobcats in the NJCAA Region X
championship games, Nov. 4 and 5. The
men lost 5-3 Sunday, and the women were
nipped in a marathon six-overtime melee,
on Saturday, Nov. 4.
WOMEN'S GAME
It was a game between equals, a match
of giants in the junior college women’s
ranks. Both teams came into the game
having lost only once —. earlier in the
season to each other.
When Coach Joe B^rtlinski urged his
Lady Tornadoes to “give me 90 minutes of
solid soccer” at the Region X Champion
ships, he had no way of knowing they
would have to give him double that and
more.
It would be difficult to imagine a more
physical and evenly matched soccer
game. The grueling four-hour contest ac
tually involved not one 90-minute period,
but 113 minutes of overtime as well.
The Lady Tornadoes jumped out to an
early 1-0 lead on a Wendy Washburn goal
with 27:30 left in the half. That period
belonged entirely to Coach Joe Bartlinski’s
women. The Bobcats appeared flat and
devisive.
But they returned to get it together in the
second half and match the BC goal with a
shot by Shannon Johnson with 29; 14 left in
regulation time. A more poised and ag
gressive L-M team peced the Lady Tor
nadoes to end of the game, and the contest
went into two 15-minute overtimes.
But neither team could put the ball in the
net and much of the action was at midfield,
throwing the game into a 15-minute sudden
death overtime.
For the next hour, nothing was
“sudden.” What resulted was five more of
these “sudden death”, prolonged, heart-
aching overtimes with no more one scoring
and both keepers making repeated spec
tacular saves. In the third such overtime
BC’s defense deflected four unbelievable
shots — shots bouncing off defenders right
in front of the goal and shots bouncing off
the goalposts.
The level of intensity on the field was
palpable. Players were knocked to the
ground and fell down so often that there
were limes when spectators wondered in
particular if, Mackie McMaster would be
able to get up yet again and resume play.
One injured player, Samantha Griffiths,
had to be carried off the the field by Coach
Barf.
On balance, the Lady Tornadoes were
handing out plenty of punishment too.
Several Bobcats had to leave the playing
field, but L-M's bench depth made it in
consequential.
Several intensely competitive personal
matches were worth watching all by
themselves, particularly that of Laura
Clark and her L-M foe, who earned each
other's respect by game's end. They would
blast into each other as if they hated each
other's guts, and then help each other up.
But in the end, just after BC keeper
An unforgettable moment from the Region X women’s soccer championship game: After four hours of soccer
and a bitterly disappointing 2-1 loss after seven overtimes, the BC women’s soccer team lets Coach Joe
Bartlinski know how they feel about him being named Region X Coach of the Year — though one injured
player is too hurt to move. (Clarion photos by Jock Lauterer)
Cathy Reinhardt had beautifully deflected
a perfect goal shot, Lees-McRae managed
to sneak a goal through during a wild and
confusing piece of action, coming from a
corner kick to right in front of the goal that
looked more like a rugby scrum than soc
cer.
Some of the BC players contested the
shot’s legality, but when the bleachers
emptied and fans swarmed on the field, it
was apparently too late to question.
It was also too late for the men’s game,
scheduled for Saturday, and that contest
had to be moved to Sunday. How that af
fected BC’s play had to be negative.
The bitterly disappointed BC women
received their runner’s up trophy with
good grace, and applauded for the All-
Tournament players from their team: Col
leen Runion, Samantha Griffiths, and Jen
nifer Keltner.
When it was announced that Coach Bart
had been named the Region X Coach of
Year, the Lady Tornadoes went wild, ex
cept for several players who were so bang
ed up they couldn’t even get up off the
ground to hug their mentor. It was a poig
nant sight, and Coach Bart, typically self-
effacing, reacted “It’s all them.”
Now that the season is suddenly over.
Lady Tornadoes, to the women, freshman
all, will likely remember what Coach Bart
told them before that fateful game: “No
matter what happens, we’re team, we’re
family.”
And upon that, the new Coach of the
Year has something indeed with which to
build next year's powerhouse.
Mark these words: there will be a
rematch in '90.
i
Lady Tornado Colleen Runion watches as Jennifer McMaster gets a
solid header on the ball during the seven-overtime 2-1 loss to Lees-
McRae Saturday.