By John C. McClanahan
Copy Desk Chief

The Brookhaven College women’s soccer team shut out the Mountain View College Lions 3-0 at home. Friday the 13th breezed with lucky mojo for the Bears and an unlucky curse on the Lions’ defense.

Sporting pink jerseys in support of breast cancer awareness, the Bears’ offense pounded the Lions in the first half, but struggled against Mountain View’s defense in the second.

The Bears’ first Bermudian-signed player, Deshae Darrell, ferociously attacked the Lions’ defense with a hat trick in the first half. “Deshae is awesome,” Jim Elder, head soccer coach, said. “Man, she can get in. She’s got a lot of speed and she can score us goals. She has a knack to hit the net. So, she’s definitely the player of the game.”

After the first kick off, the Bears commanded the field with fast breaks and dominating set-ups. In the fourth minute, Darrell pounded an unassisted shot past Lions goalkeeper Mayra Montellano, giving the Bears an early 1-0 lead.

The Bears’ pace did not stop, and they continued to shake up the Lions’ defense with quick breaks and a couple 0f sizzling shots on goal.

In the 24th minute, Bears Savanna Hernandez whipped her head around on a cross from midfielder Jazmine Bustos, but her header shied left of the net.

The Lions’ defense continued to struggle.

In the 26th minute, Hernandez tapped a pass to Darrell who juked past the Lions’ defenders and pummeled another shot past Montellano. The Bears extended their lead 2-0.

Brookhaven continued to dominate the first half, keeping the offensive momentum flowing in their favor. In the 29th minute, the Bears took another swipe at the Lions’ defense. Hernandez snapped another quick shot near the right post, but Montellano blocked her attempt.

In the 43rd minute, Bears Julie Ortega fed Darrell a pass up midfield into the Lions’ territory. On a fast break, Darrell eluded the Lions defenders and smoked a hard roller past Montellano into the left corner to complete soccer’s coveted hat trick.

“She’s a powerful kid,” Elder said. “She’s got a powerful shot and she is just hard to stop when she hits it sweet.”

The Bears led the game 3-0 after the first half.

Brookhaven continued to out-shoot Mountain View, but the Bears did not muster the same pace as they did the first half.

In the 47th minute, Bears Joseline Sorto hung a floating shot over the Lions’ net. A few minutes later, Lions Erika Obregon knocked a long pass down the field to teammate Liliana Martinez. She squared up and knocked a shot toward Brookhaven’s net. But Bears goalkeeper Daniela Marin snagged her attempt for a save.

In the 51st minute, Bears Terrie-Noel Tchoffo subbed for Marin. Obregon launched a rifle shot from midfield, but Tchoffo blocked her missile attempt, keeping the Bears’ lead intact. In the 65th minute, Aguilar snapped a hard shot, flailing left of Mountain View’s post.

In the 77th minute, Bears forward Alexandra Aguilar, using her fast footwork, forced another hard shot on the Lions’ net, but Montellano dove right in a split-second and snatched the ball.

The Bears kept attacking, but the Lions’ defense refused to give them another bite.

As the clock winded down, the Lions desperately forced the ball into the Bears’ half of the field, trying to put a goal on the board. But the Bears’ defense kept sharp and swiped a 3-0 victory.

“Honestly, we could have done better,” Aguilar said. “We could have been at least [up] 7-0, but the problem is we were being selfish on the field.”

Elder said: “I was a little disappointed. We were a little sloppy. Our talent allowed us to score some goals, but we were really sloppy … and once we got up three goals, we kind of took a back seat.”

The Bears finished the 2017 Metro Athletic Conference season in first place with a 9-3-1 overall record.

“If we can continue to play like we did the first half, we should have no problem going into the tournament and try to win it all,” Robert Williams, assistant soccer coach, said.