By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Bend it like Bailey.
Bailey Reynolds’ dazzling goal highlighted a big second half for the Nixa Lady Eagles as they defeated Kickapoo 3-0 on Monday night.
Reynolds, a senior, delivered the goal of the match in the 54th minute when she hooked a free kick into the back of the net.
With the ball set just outside the 18-yard box on the left side, Reynolds placed her shot around the Kickapoo wall then past the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper and into the upper right corner.
“I’ve always grown up (practicing) that if I kick it from that spot, then I’m going to make it like a cross shot,” Reynolds said. “So the goal is to get (the ball) across, but to shoot it to the upper corner. That was my goal. It went where I wanted it to go.”
Watching it, Reynolds thought she might have missed her mark.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh, is it going to hit the post?’” Reynolds said. “Then it just went in and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness!’ It was freaking awesome.”
The goal put Nixa ahead 2-0. The Lady Eagles tacked on a late goal from Kelsi Moore to secure the win over previously undefeated Kickapoo.
The Eagles’ attack came to life after a scoreless first half.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“We were looking at our wings a little bit more in the second half,” said Nixa coach Evan Palmer. “We weren’t playing (our wings) a lot in the first half but when we did, we got some good opportunities. We wanted to play the wings, get the ball out wide then come back in and move it around a little bit more.”
Kickapoo entered Monday’s match 7-0 overall. The Lady Chiefs had outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 39-0.
Nixa (6-2 overall) had recently lost to Kansas City-area schools Park Hill South and Liberty.
“We were really looking forward to this game,” Reynolds said. “We knew Kickapoo has a lot of good players on their team. We wanted to come out, play our best and play to our potential. I think we did that. I’m really proud of our team.”
Nixa went ahead 1-0 in the 44th minute on Abby Harrison’s penalty kick. Nixa drew a foul in the box after several rebound attempts.
On the other end, Kickapoo couldn’t capitalize on its possession advantage.
“If you look at the stats, (Kickapoo) probably had more possession and more shots,” Palmer said. “We finally started to figure them out in the second half and were able to get some better looks and shots on goals.”
Monday’s match ended about five minutes early due to impending thunderstorms in the south Springfield area.
Nixa returns to action April 16-17 at the Kickapoo Shootout.
Kickapoo hosts Central on Tuesday then also competes in the Kickapoo Shootout this weekend.
