Panthers Strike Twice in Second Half to Take Down Newport
Heavy gray skies rolled over Bonney Lake Saturday night, and the rain that threatened all evening finally arrived right as things got interesting. The Panthers hosted Newport in a non-league test between two teams looking to build early-season momentum, and for a half it looked like the Knights would spoil the night - Newport took a 1-0 lead into the break. But Bonney Lake erased it with two second-half goals, including a game-winner from junior Abby Arneson in the 69th minute, and held off a late Newport push in the pouring rain to escape with a 2-1 win.
The win pushes Bonney Lake to 3-1 on the young season, its second straight after a 3-1 win over Timberline on Thursday. Newport came in at 1-1, fresh off a 1-0 shutout of Interlake of its own - this was no gimme.
Bonney Lake controlled the run of play for much of the first half without much to show for it. Arneson tested the Newport keeper early with a long-range strike that went straight into her hands, then tried again from 25 yards with the same result. The Panthers' best look of the half came when Layla Davisson drove down the left and slid it into London Rolbiecki, whose shot on goal Newport turned away.
Bonney Lake came closest in the 28th minute, when an Arneson corner found a head in the box and forced a difficult save out of the Newport keeper, the ball squirting loose near the goal line before Newport cleared it. At the other end, senior goalkeeper Abi Benigno made the play of the half, rising to knock away a shot headed for the upper corner and sending the home crowd into a roar.
Newport broke through in the 34th minute, working a corner kick into the middle and redirecting it home to take a 1-0 lead into the locker room.
Whatever Bonney Lake found at halftime changed the game. The Panthers came out pressing, pinning Newport in its own end for the opening five minutes of the half. Arneson had another good look in the 48th minute that didn't convert, and junior Sloane Ottele - a threat on both ends all night - sent one just wide. Davisson nearly broke through on her own, but her shot slid just outside the right post.
Bonney Lake finally broke through in the 58th minute. Arneson curled a corner from the right into the box, and senior Madison Campbell rose above the defense to head it home and level the match.
Eleven minutes later, Arneson made sure the Panthers didn't stop there. Sliding into a loose ball in front of the Newport net, she drove it home with her left foot to put Bonney Lake ahead for good - the same player who set up the equalizer now delivering the winner herself, and the home crowd erupting as the rain that had been threatening all night finally arrived in earnest.
With the lead in hand and the rain now coming down steadily, Bonney Lake leaned on a defense that had been excellent all second half - senior Reese Snider-Welsh and sophomore Claire Roderick anchoring the back line, sophomore Bailey Morris giving Newport fits all night, and Ottele covering ground at both ends. Newport had one last chance, a corner that bounced dangerously through a crowd in front of the net, but the Panthers' defense refused to break, and the final whistle went their way.
For the second straight match, Bonney Lake did its best work after halftime. Head coach Michael Peters and the Panthers won't have long to enjoy this one - they're back home Tuesday, Sept. 15, to host Cascade Christian at 7:30 p.m.
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