By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – For the first time this season, Bedford North Lawrence was the youth gone wild.
With seven freshmen in the starting lineup, it’s inevitable for one of the rookies to score. What are the odds that four get on the board in the same match? The Stars, a motley crew when describing their diverse characters, rode the wind of the freshmen-powered offense to a breakout victory.
BNL pulled away in the final 20 minutes to conquer Bloomfield 4-0 on Thursday night. The Stars (1-4) posted the debut victory for first-year coach Jordan Himmelspach, surpassing their goal total for their previous four outings with one electric half and ending a skid.
After battling to a 1-0 lead at intermission, BNL scored three times during the final 19 minutes to subdue the Cardinals (0-4 with four shutout losses).
“It feels good, it came when the team really needed it,” Himmelspach said. “We had played some tough games that got us on our heels. So this one feels good and the girls are excited.
“We played 80 minutes of functional soccer. We spread the field, we switched the field and found some different options when the box got a little congested. I was proud of their determination. It was great play.”
BNL got on the board late in the first half when Cambria Loy cracked home a rebound of her own deflected shot at 4:14. That held up until BNL’s constant pressure paid off with a scoring surge.
Prezley Thurler connected on the final shot of a close-range flurry in front of Bloomfield goalie Madilyn Patton, who stopped the first two of a bombardment but could not catch Thurler’s shot when she got caught out of position with 18:54 left.
After a goal got erased by an offsides call with 10 minutes remaining, the Stars came back with Roslyn Himmelspach’s settle-and-shoot goal at 2:31. The final tally was a textbook corner kick, with Himmelspach finding Jenna Mullis in the box for a snappy shot with 35 seconds left.
“The goals would come when we started looking for our teammates,” Himmelspach said. “That’s what they did those last few minutes, they played as a team. When they start connecting and looking for the team score, it will come.”
“We fought, we just believed in ourselves,” Thurler said. “It feels amazing, with all the hard work. We believed we could get the ‘W’ tonight.”
All freshmen, all the time. There have been growing pains, but there’s a bright future ahead.
“It says we’re coming,” Himmelspach said. “This is a great group, they work hard, they take hard coaching. They understand, to get better, we have to work hard.”
“It can be tough, they have more experience,” Thurler said of the age gap between the Stars and most opponents. “But we work as a team and don’t give up. Knowing we have a win, we can keep on going.”
BNL will visit Columbus East on Tuesday.
