TORRINGTON – The visiting Buffalo Lady Bison played spoiler to Torrington High School’s Senior Night festivities on Friday, handing the Lady Blazers a 4-2 loss.
Following the match, THS coach Dave Cummings was quick to point out how much the team had improved since the last meeting between the two teams.
“They played their hearts out,” he said. “This is a team that I cannot describe how much they’ve improved in the last three weeks since we played them last.”
In the first meeting, back on April 9 in a 6-1 loss, but in the second meeting, the Lady Blazers were in the thick of the match to the very end.
In the 30th minute, Buffalo was the first team on the scoreboard, but it didn’t take long for Torrington to respond.
Seven minutes later, senior Kameron Stitt tied the match at one apiece.
The score remained 1-1 through halftime and through the first seven minutes of the second half.
In the 47th minute, the Lady Bison broke the tie, but eight minutes later, a penalty kick put Buffalo in front, 3-1.
In the 74th minute, Madison McCart netted a perfectly placed shot just past the outstretched hands of the Buffalo goalie.
“We’ve been working on the chip shot for weeks at practice and it’s nice to see all the rewards of all the hard work pay off,” Cummings said. “It was textbook.”
Buffalo managed to sneak one more goal in the net in the final moments of the match.
The Lady Blazers honored Jenessa Derby, Stitt, Morgan Bates, Jaycee Myrtle and Brittney Lira following the game.
“We have a range of seniors, from girls who have been with the program from the beginning with a couple new ones who came out this year because they wanted to learn,” Cummings said. “I can’t say enough about their character and their work ethic and what they have taught these younger girls.”
Torrington is back in action against Newcastle twice this week. The team was at home on Monday in a make-up contest, and the Lady Blazers make the return trip to Newcastle on Thursday. The road match is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m.
“As much as they’ve improved against Buffalo, we are looking for good things to happen next week,” Cummings said.
