By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – A ball in the hand was worth one in the net for Edgewood.
The Mustangs scored on a second-half penalty kick, following a Bedford North Lawrence hand-ball violation in the box, while stopping the Stars 1-0 on Monday afternoon.
BNL (3-9-2) could not find any cracks in the Edegwood defense. When the Stars did generate a chance, Edegwood goalie Macey Crider shut it off. She’s the main reason the Mustangs (11-1-1) have allowed only four goals all season.
“She’s the rock in the back,” Edgewood coach Brittany Tucker said. “She stops almost anything.”
The Stars were equal to that task, as goalie Lauren Crozier was solid in the net. The only goal came with 24:41 left, when Zhenia Venegas boomed the penalty kick into the corner.
“It’s frustrating, when we played that well against a team that good, and end up losing on a penalty kick,” BNL coach Bret Roberts said. “I guess that’s one of those things, part of the game. We did a great job against a quality team.”
BNL could not get rewarded for its effort and best outing – against a quality opponent – of the season.
”They’ve stepped it up a lot,” Tucker said. “They worked really hard, their aggression was more than ours. They worked harder than us.”
BNL will visit Austin on Wednesday.
