By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
BOLIVAR – It may have taken an extra year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Bolivar Lady Liberators captured their fifth-straight district championship as senior Lexi Berry scored four goals to lead them to a 5-0 victory over Logan-Rogersville on a rainy Thursday night at Southwest Baptist University.
Coach Steve Fast, who has been there for all five dating back to 2016, gave all the credit to his players for getting it done.
“It just continues to show the dedication that these girls have,” Fast said. “They come out and they’re there together from day one in spirit and mentality. They don’t let drama in, they work together, they love being together and it’s just evident they play for each other. If we have to make changes around, they just cover, and if someone changes a position or whatever, they cover it and they do the best they can.”
Junior midfielder London Wilson got the Lady Liberators on the board early with a goal from about 15 yards out on an assist from freshman Sahara Adams. Bolivar, which improved to 19-6, was on the attack from the opening whistle and never let up, sparked by Berry and Wilson.
“(Wilson) is very tough,” Fast said. “She is super-skilled, high-energy and just relentless with her pressure and her attack of the goal – reminds me of a gal we had a few years ago (Brionna Halverson, who also starred at Saint Louis University) – just a beautiful spirit and a great leader. They’re all great leaders.”
Berry recorded her first goal of the night with a shot in front of the box at the 29:58 mark and the Lady Liberators did not give the Lady Wildcats many opportunities, taking a 2-0 lead into halftime.
As the second half began, the rain picked up its intensity and never let up – just like the Bolivar offensive attack.
Berry broke through the Logan-Rogersville defense and sent a shot from the right side of the box into the left corner of the goal for her second score to put Bolivar up 3-0 with 28:32 to go in the game.
About six minutes later, Berry streaked up the left sideline, cut back inside and sent another shot past the keeper for the hat trick and a 4-0 Bolivar lead.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
With about 20 minutes remaining, the rain began to fall even harder making already miserable conditions even tougher. Both teams, which play their home games on natural grass, have had to make the adjustment to turf this week because of the rain.
“I knew that (Bolivar) had some speed, so I really didn’t like the turf,” Logan-Rogersville coach Brett Wubbena said. “Because when we see turf, sometimes we’ll run like we have speed, and we’re not the speed team. When we connect and we kind of move together, it’s different.”
Berry was pleased with the adjustments her Lady Liberators made through the change of location, the elements and even a change of position due to injuries on the team.
“I think that’s something that’s awesome about this team – we can deal with change really well,” Berry said. “I was playing forward this game, and I never played forward. We all adjusted and we did what we could to win. I think what really helped is that we were all really excited coming into it. We knew that we could do it and we just had the energy that it took. Both teams had to deal with the rain, we just worked hard and knew we could get it done.”
And, get it done they did as Berry stole the ball and buried a shot in the upper right corner for her fourth goal and a 5-0 Bolivar lead and its fifth-straight district championship.
“It feels awesome,” said Berry, who has been part of the last three titles. “It’s just fun being with my team. We’re closer than probably any team I’ve ever been on, so that’s a lot of fun. I couldn’t have done anything without them.”
After graduating one of their largest and accomplished classes that didn’t get to compete in its final season because of the pandemic, the Lady Wildcats’ finish this year (16-9 and a district final) was better than might have been expected.
“From where we started to where we are now, I’ve just been really impressed,” Wubbena said. “I’ve been impressed with how the girls have kind of become a team, how they work together. There were games that we would get goals from different people throughout the year. And to me, that’s a sign of a good team, or of a team, and we had that pretty much about halfway through.
“It took us a little bit to figure some things out, but the last couple of weeks, it’s been a lot of fun. This week’s been kind of frustrating and tough, but it’s a long season. We were kind of banged up, but it is what it is. Bolivar played really good tonight.”
Next up for Bolivar will be the winner of Friday’s Father Tolton Regional Catholic-Oak Grove game on May 29 with more than a week to prepare.
“I know both teams are great, and Oak Grove is scoring a lot of goals,” Fast said. “They both have really good records, and I’m excited to see the result of that one.”
Class 2 District 6 Championship
(1) Bolivar 5, (2) Logan-Rogersville 0
Logan-Rogersville (16-9) – 0-0—0
Bolivar (19-6) – 2-3—5
Scoring
First half
Bolivar – London Wilson (Sahara Adams assist)
Bolivar – Lexi Berry (Claire Giglio assist)
Second half
Bolivar – Berry (Ese Jones assist)
Bolivar – Berry (Adams assist)
Bolivar – Berry (Megan Roberts)
Allison Butler 3 saves
Up next: Class 2 Quarterfinal – Bolivar vs. Father Tolton Regional Catholic-Oak Grove winner, May 29
