After No. 4 Lincoln East got the best of No. 5 Kearney last week in the Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament semi-finals in overtime, the Bearcats fought back and earned a 4-3 victory in our game of the week.
Kearney coach Lerrin Rowe gave credit to her team postgame.
“I think our girls continue and just want to fight in their drive to continue to get better each game and they were tenacious tonight, so kudos to them,” Rowe said. “Obviously, a big senior night. But I mean, we started it early, within the first two minutes and we didn’t really let down.”
Kearney got off to a quick start just over a minute into the game when Addie Snyder found herself alone against Lincoln East goalie Emma Eilers. Just like that, the Bearcats had a 1-0 lead over Lincoln East.
Lincoln East went to work in an attempt to tie the game back up when Kate Eggett ended up on a breakaway that was saved by a diving Kadi Eklund. The Spartans did not let up as Elizabeth Burhoop came racing past the Kearney defense, forcing another huge save from Eklund. However, the rebound ended up at the feet of MaKynlie Cade, who buried it into the back of the net to tie the score at one.
The tie did not last long as freshman Maicie Stubbs regained the lead for Kearney on a header less than a minute after the goal from Cade, making it 2-1 in favor of the Bearcats.
Stubbs was not yet done as she dropped in another goal from 20 yards out for her second goal of the day to increase the Kearney lead to 3-1.
“I’m not going to lie,” Rowe said. “I was crying on the sideline after the second goal, because that was one of the most beautiful goals I’ve seen, obviously, this year. But I mean, she continues to fight. She’s a hard worker.”
Shortly after, a cold front came through and the wind picked up from calm to 40+ mph and much cooler temperatures.
The score would stay 3-1 until the second half when Kearney High added another goal to make it three straight for the Bearcats. Reese Holscher scored the goal for her 13th goal of the season, only one behind Addie Snyder.
Lincoln East then added two goals in the 62nd and 69th minutes, respectively. First, it was Cade with her second goal of the night, then a yellow card set up a penalty kick for Leila Nachi who buried it home cutting Kearney’s lead to one with 11 minutes remaining.
Lincoln East put their pedal to the gas, but Kearney held off the Spartans over the last 10 minutes to complete the 4-3 victory. With the win, Kearney moves to 14-2 and Lincoln East falls to 9-4.
Elijah Moser is a contributor for Nebraska Soccer Talk, currently studying Sports Communication and Journalism at the University of Nebraska – Kearney.