By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – For all the pain and suffering Madalyn Mason has endured during her Bedford North Lawrence soccer career, she had to be skeptical when a new coach and 10 freshmen showed up for her senior season. She had already absorbed a literal kick in the head, and this looked like a figurative one. She didn’t sign up for babysitting.
That’s what made her Senior Day, along with classmates Lilly King and Caelyn Burke, so special. This winning streak, this atmosphere, these new friendships and memories that will last far longer than the glow of victories, have made it all worth it.
BNL celebrated the seniors in style, recording a 5-2 triumph over Silver Creek on Saturday afternoon. The Stars (8-4-1) extended their sensational surge to nine straight games without a loss as rookies Roslyn Himmelspach and Jenna Mullis scored two goals each.
After three years of eight-plus losses, after suffering a major concussion when she took a vicious kick to the head as a sophomore goalie and required six months to recover, this remarkable turnaround was what Mason wanted more than personal achievement. She might not recall much immediately after the concussion, but she will never forget this final campaign.
“It feels weird being a senior,” Mason said. “I feel so close to these young ones, I feel they’re part of my own, I guess. They mean a lot to me, and it means a lot that they want to win. I saw how competitive they were, they really wanted to be here.
“This has taught me to be patient. And even when I’m not winning, to push them, to help them as a leader.”
The kids can play. They were not at their knife-edge best during the first half against the Dragons (5-6-2), but they sharpened their games on a whetstone in the second, scoring three times in the final 25 minutes to pull away.
“We did a lot of ball watching and gave them a couple of opportunities,” BNL coach Jordan Himmelspach said. “It was just a matter of them turning it on and playing the game they know how to play.”
Summer Hughes got BNL started with a quick goal, snapping home a shot at 37:03. Roslyn Himmelspach cracked home a penalty kick at 24:28, and BNL looked like it was on its way. But Silver Creek came back with two outstanding goals. The first was a one-touch blast by Lucy James at 15:20 of the first half, the second was Hailey Dorrer’s 35-yard lofted shot over BNL goalie Aubrey Lynn at 34:24 of the second half.
The Stars needed a spark, and the Mullis-Himmelspach combination provided it. Mullis blasted home a 20-yarder off a Himmelspach centering pass with 25:10 left, and Himmelspach converted a second penalty kick – “She drills those things in her sleep,” her coach said – with 18:40 remaining.
The final goal was the most beautiful. Himmelspach spotted Mullis breaking into the attacking zone, and she lofted a great long pass that caught Mullis in stride, alone for a one-on-one with the Silver Creek goalie. Mullis won that for the clinching goal at 2:52.
”They did a great job of marking Jenna,” Himmelspach said. “It’s the best thing and the worst thing about being the top goal scorer on a team, it’s easy for coaches to mark them.”
BNL will learn its postseason fate when the IHSAA announces the sectional pairings on Sunday. The Stars will visit Edgewood on Monday.
