By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – If anyone deserved a spotlight moment on Senior Night, it was Cora Thomas. She suffered through the worst of times, when the future existence of the Bedford North Lawrence program was in serious doubt. So she can appreciate, more than most, the best of times.
Thomas, one of five five honored seniors on Wednesday night, scored the first goal just minutes after she was announced for her honor walk to midfield. Talk about karma. How cool was that? Her reward for persistence was a 4-0 victory over Austin.
Summer Hughes, a freshman with promise, scored twice, but this win and celebration was about the five upperclassmen (including Sophie Jackson, Alex Nubbie, Leah Wagner and Katie Sites) and Thomas in particular. She went through 24 varsity games before enjoying a victory. Wins are earned, not deserved, but this had the feeling of some kismet.
“You put in all the effort through the years, and on Senior Night it’s your big night, the night that matters the most,” Thomas said. “So it felt good.”
She got the Stars started with a long-range blast at 30:52 in the first half. Hughes took over the offensive load from there, cranking home goals at 19:25 and 17:17 (the latter a shot off the goalie’s hand) as BNL burst to a 3-0 lead at intermission.
Jolynn Wilson was credited with the final goal when Austin’s beleaguered goalie fumbled a save, allowing a swarm of Stars to crash the goal and push the ball into the net at 34:50 in the second half.
Another circle-of-life, intersecting juncture? BNL’s first win during Thomas’ sophomore season in 2022 came against Austin. Two years later, she will remember this one a lot more.
“One of her strong suits as a player is those powerful shots from outside the box,” BNL coach Bret Roberts said. “It’s awesome to see her successfully score off one of those shots.
“This group is special to me because they were freshmen when I first started coaching (as an assistant). The huge strides we have made as a program – we didn’t play a single game with 11 girls that first year, and some games it was brutal. We’ve experienced a lot of emotions together, like heartache and defeat. Now it’s success and excitement.”
And here’s a statistic BNL has not heard in a long time. The Stars have gone 3-0-1 over their last four games.
“We’re getting used to working well together, knowing where your teammates will be,” Thomas said of the surge. “You trust each other more. It’s been cool to see the program grow, to see girls learn the skills and learn how to play, see the improvement.“
“I think of the season as a mountain,” Roberts said. “You start kind of low, and as you build up during the season you should be at your peak toward the end. I think we are. We have figured out some good passing combinations on offense, we’ve started working well together. We have figured out how to score, and it has given us a lot of confidence.”
Austin slipped to 1-11-2.
BNL (4-9-1) will close the regular season on Saturday, hosting North Harrison, then clash with Bloomington South in the sectional at Terre Haute North on Oct. 10.
