“They wanted it more than we did in the first half” was the assessment of Coach Rob Brewer of the MSU Bears following his squads 2-1 loss to their North side neighbors, the Drury Panthers Saturday evening. All three goals were scored in the decisive first half, with Drury scoring in the 31st and 42nd minutes while MSU narrowed the margin with a quick strike in the 43rd minute.

It was an entertaining game that drew a good crowd, despite Drury’s Sports Information department lack of interest in including it on the published schedule. I also missed a nice game between the men’s team and the visiting UMKC Kangaroo’s that the parent’s I talked to learned about only because their student-athlete sons mentioned it to them. Let’s pick up the pace Scott! The season has started. UPDATE – the Panther’s SID blog notes some arcane NCAA rules about reporting with brief notes that don’t address the schedule issue.

The Bears opened quickly in the match, taking the ball into the Panther’s box from the start. Drury parried that attack and slowly but surely got comfortable with the pace and physical attack of their large school opponent. While Drury was able to establish themselves and control play for the next 15 minutes, the Bears kept the pressure on and were seemingly in control of the game when the Panther’s got the game-winner from freshman Hillary Cockrell. It was the result of a corner kick, when Hillary collected a clearance and hammered a 30 yard shot just under the crossbar. Cockrell joins the Panthers from Union HS in Tulsa, two time OK Class 6 State champions in 2007 and 2008. She joins former HS teammate Emily West (pictured defending against Carolyn Sweeney) on the Panthers, starting tonight in the defensive midfield position behind Kelsy Long and Olivia Philippart de Foy. Philippart de Foy looks prepared to finally fulfill the role I predicted for her two years ago which is significant due to the loss of Sarah “Goody” Goodman for the season to an ACL injury in the Spring.

The Panthers second goal also came as a result of a corner kick, earned against the run of play in the 42nd minute. This time Mandi Little was able to nod down the initial ball and Kelsy Long collected it inside the 6 yard box, getting off a quick shot that was parried by the defender on post. The rebound fell to Kelsy and her 2nd shot was on target, stunning the Bears. They responded well however, taking the ensuing restart down into the Panthers box where freshman Tara Bailes (Catholic – pictured with Katy McLain, Kickapoo) collected a loose ball just outside the box and put a ball into the net, off of the underside of the cross bar. Some folks even described it as a chip shot. That’s exactly the role Coaches Brewer and Dutchik had in mind for her when she was recruited and gave the Bears the momentum they needed going into the 2nd half.

The 2nd half was a freewheeling affair, with both teams in attack mode but as the game wore on the Bears began to impose themselves. The unofficial statistics had the Bears out-shooting the Panthers 14-5, with 9 shots on goal, 6 of which came in the second half. Jessie Sanderson appears to be in mid-season form as she kept a clean sheet, helped by one off sides call that negated a ball that Carolyn Sweeney put into the goal.

All-in-all, the game offered early lessons for both teams that I anticipate they will use well. The Bears continue their scoring run early, while the importance of set pieces and 90+ minutes of commitment and intensity (remember Indiana State last year ladies) were hammered home. For the Panthers, a reminder that the team that reached the Final 16 is relatively intact and capable of achieving at high levels. Fitness is going to be huge for this team, and the reason there were players on the bench last night after not achieving minimum levels. I’m looking forward to the season!

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