Tribe soccer teams wrapped up regular seasons in winning fashion, both advancing to the WVSSAC Region 2 Section 1 semifinals tonight at Wayne Jamison Field.

 

The Lady Indians take on Grafton at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ contest against Liberty, starting at about 8 p.m.

 

The boys finished with a 14-4-2 record with a lot of wins coming later in the season.

 

“We really played well, especially the second half of the season,” said Coach Danny Hamrick. “We put some guys in different positions this year and it took a while to adjust to that. Another factor is our schedule. We played some of the best teams in the state early in the season.”

That, Hamrick said, didn’t happen by accident. Playing tough teams early-on provides for a good benchmark.

 

“It shows you what you need to work on,” he said.

 

The final game of the season was Thursday when the Indians faced Lincoln High School, a game which ended 9-1 in favor of the Tribe. Scoring was disbursed among team members and all were united in mindset.

“We had six different kids score,” Hamrick said. “I thought we shared the ball well and after halftime we had good control. We had a talk during halftime and they got more aggressive the second half.”

 

It was just 2-0 when the Indians entered the locker room. The Tribe exploded during the second period play with seven goals.

 

Hamrick said Bridgeport, unlike Lincoln, is fortunate to have so many on the roster, always having fresh legs toward the end of play.

 

“I played a lot of kids all year and I think that’s better in the long run. At the end of games when others get tired, we can run fresh kids in,” Hamrick said.

 

Bridgeport faces Liberty during tonight’s semifinal, earning a bye for preliminaries. During regular season, the Tribe defeated Liberty twice; 8-0 and 6-2.

 

“Our thing is controlling the ball and putting pressure on the opposing team’s defense,” Hamrick said. “We like to press hard. If we’re successful with that, we can be successful against anybody.”

 

A win tonight will place Bridgeport in Thursday’s sectional finals. The winner of tonight’s Bridgeport vs. Liberty game plays the winner of Robert C. Byrd vs. Grafton. If Bridgeport wins this evening, sectional finals will be played at Wayne Jamison Field.

 

Preceding the boys’ 8 p.m. game will be the Lady Indians against Grafton. Like the boys, the girls earned top seed and a bye for the first round of sectionals. During regular season, BHS toppled Grafton 3-0, the same score by which the Lady Indians beat Lincoln during last week’s last regular season game.

 

Instead of practice Monday night, Coach John Reese said the girls gathered for a team meeting which proved very beneficial.

“It was fantastic. The girls brought up things they had to do to get ready for tonight,” he said. “Everyone participated and we talked about things as a team.”

 

The Tribe’s senior leaders were all vocal and, as they have all season, proved to be good team leaders.

 

“We have everyone on the same page and everyone is healthy,” Reese said.

 

The roster had to be cut o 22 for postseason, but Reese said he invited all those who didn’t make the cut to continue practicing with the team. There’s always a chance injury will occur and someone will have to step in, he said. It’s also good practice for next season.

 

Reese will run a 4-4-2 formation, starting Anna Cava and Braelynne Sandreth as forwards, Lacy Bryant and Kaitlin Smith as center midfielders, Emma Perine and Olivia Arbogast left and right midfielders, Catie Wilson and Kirsten George at center back and Maddison Wilson and Jordan Cole at outside back. Rory Marple will play goalkeeper.

 

Game time is 6 p.m. Like the boys, the girls will advance to sectional finals if they win tonight; playing at home Thursday.