By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – All Bedford North Lawrence needed to break the ice was a little Summer heat.
Frozen in place offensively, the Stars rammed through the bergs, and Owen Valley’s melting defensive wall, for an explosive 7-0 victory over the Patriots on Tuesday. Summer Hughes recorded her first career hat trick and BNL (1-4) broke through for its first win of the season while scoring its most goals since posting 10 against North Harrison during the 2020 campaign.
After logging one lone goal during the first four matches, BNL went a little crazy. Asking which was more important – scoring or winning? – was like the chicken-or-the-egg question. Victory requires at least one ball in the net, so the Stars went a lot overboard on the scoreboard.
”It’s good to have a win on our record,” BNL coach Bret Roberts said. “It’s tough, not just getting beat, but by significant numbers (24-0 over the last three games) so many games in a row. We definitely needed this.
“It’s nice to win, but the offense was important. I’m more worried about how they played than the result. We needed this. We had some very good play.”
Hughes brought the blowtorch, tipping home a loose-ball rebound in front of an open net at 35:26, then drilling a crossing pass into the corner of the goal at 27:58. Those quick strikes set the tone.
”It gave us the momentum we needed, gave us a little pep in our step,” Roberts said. “It’s the confidence factor to realize they can score. It’s been a while.”
Rachael Barr gave BNL a 3-0 advantage at the half when her blast slipped through the hands of OV goalie Jennifer Brown at 21:17. Hughes finished off her hat trick with her third at 37:22 of the second half, banging home a rebound off the goalie’s initial stop.
“I just believed in myself,” said Hughes, who also had the first BNL goal of the year in the season opener. “It made me more confident. After I realized their defense was playing a different method from the past teams we’ve played, they were easy to beat to the ball. It made the whole team believe.”
JoLynn Wilson got hot in the second half, scoring at 32:30 and again at 7:27. Mycah Munguia posted the other goal on hard shot from the top of the penalty box with 18:55 left.
“Having all these losses, because our schedule is so tough, this sets the momentum for the future,” Wilson said. “It’s exciting to get the taste of what it’s like to win, get that excitement. Now that we know what it’s like, we’ll work harder for it.”
BNL will visit Bloomfield on Wednesday.
