Lady Hawks manage a 2-2 tie with powerful BHS

HARDIN VALLEY — Hardin Valley Academy girls soccer head coach Jessie Stephens would’ve liked nothing more than to see her squad get a win against rival Bearden.

But the Lady Hawks’ second-year head coach didn’t have too many complaints with the result her team got.

“These girls have been working really hard and they deserved to win,” Stephens said after Hardin Valley played the Lady Bulldogs to a 2-2 draw Monday, Sept. 23, at HVA.

“We’re just having trouble finishing,” she added. “It’s great to know that you can play with these teams even though you don’t quite get that big win.”

Monday night’s draw came on the heels of a District 4-AAA tie against Maryville Thursday, Sept. 19, when the Lady Rebels and Lady Hawks battled and finished knotted at 1-1 after regulation and 20 minutes of overtime.

The match against the Lady Bulldogs (11-1-1) ended in a tie after 80 minutes of regulation play.

Alex Smith gave the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest — the Lady Bulldogs’ only real scoring opportunity of the first half.

“We had a freshman goaltender (Alyssa Crain) in there and she did a great job in this game against a team like that,” Stephens said.

The Lady Hawks (7-2-4) tied it late in the opening half when senior Karly Livingston tallied in the 38th minute.

Hardin Valley took a 2-1 lead in the 53rd minute on a goal by senior Caroline Fultz. Livingston assisted.

Bearden made it 2-2 when freshman forward Brinley Murphy converted a penalty kick in the 65th minute.

“From this game and from the one against Maryville, we learned we play well when we play for each other and we proved that we’ll fight until the very end,” Livingston said.

“It’s a shame that it took us until the last 30 minutes to even wake up and compete,” Bearden head coach Ryan Radcliffe said. “Hardin Valley deserved to win this game. For 60 minutes, they ran right through us.”