Grizzlies end Lyncs’ soccer season in bi-district tournament

In the midst of the emotion of her last soccer game in a Lynden Christian uniform, senior forward Haley Hollander paused to reflect on what it meant to play for the Lyncs.

“Looking back, there’s nothing like playing LC soccer,” Hollander said. “You leave it all out on the field. You give it all you’ve got.”

Hollander and her beloved teammates came up just short against the Bear Creek Grizzlies in a first-round elimination game of the Class 1A Bi-District Tournament. The Lyncs lost 2-1 with Hollander scoring the lone goal for LC. All three goals of the match were scored in the first half.

Things started out at a relative standstill for the first 18 minutes of play before forward Madison Baugh struck first for Bear Creek. The shot was initially stopped, only to trickle past goalkeeper Kaitlyn Heeringa.

Lyncs fans didn’t have to take long for Hollander to tie things up. Just two short minutes after Baugh scored, Hollander used some nifty footwork with the ball to clear enough space and put the ball in the back of the net.

Both Baugh and Hollander’s goals were the first shots on goal for their respective teams. Lynden Christian coach Brent De Ruyter acknowledged that fact in connection with how well his defense played.

“I felt like we minimized their chances,” De Ruyter said. “It’s just the ones that they got. In the playoffs, you can’t allow those things to happen.”

Another slip up in an otherwise stout Lynden Christian defensive performance, especially from freshman Libby Hielkema, led to Baugh’s second goal just before the first half ended. Each of Baugh’s goals occurred due to Lynden Christian’s loss of possession deep in their own territory.

“They just capitalized on opportunities more than we did,” De Ruyter said. “Both of those goals were hustle plays.”

Not many other scoring opportunities came up until the Lyncs set up an opportunity for a corner kick during stoppage time at the end of the second half. The opportunity could not be taken advantage of in a night that didn’t hold very many of them.

The refusal to quit is what Hollander could fall back on after a loss that she said brought her and her teammates to bittersweet tears.

“Our theme this year was stay strong, stay together. I believe we did that,” Hollander said. “I love all my teammates to death, I can’t even describe it.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Grizzlies end Lyncs’ soccer season in bi-district tournament."