SENIOR LEADER … Ava Zimmerman (above) scored Bryan’s first goal of the night in a 3-1 win at Evergreen.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
NWOAL HOME MATCH … Evergreen freshman Abagail Gleckler gets possession in last week’s NWOAL tilt with Bryan.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
METAMORA (September 11, 2025) – While not much happened in the first half, coach Danielle McQuillin and her Bryan Golden Bears picked it up, scoring three goals in the second half to subdue Evergreen, 3-1.
Bryan is now 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the league. Evergreen drops to 2-4-1 while suffering their first league loss.
“We talked about possession and how narrow the field was,” McQuillin said of the halftime talk. “We just needed to play our game; we were playing too many long balls in the first half, so possessing was a key for us in the second half.”
“A league win was huge. We are hoping to win the league, so we will just continue to work on our possessions and work on our speed on top.”
After 40 minutes of a few scoring chances for both teams, Ava Zimmerman had a legit chance to break a scoreless deadlock seven minutes into the second.
Viking goalie Ellie Nash stopped her drive, and a rebound shot sailed over the net. However, three minutes later, Zimmerman got her revenge.
The Golden Bear senior nailed a free kick from just above the box with 30:19 left in the game to put the Bears up.
It took Evergreen just five minutes to even the game. Abagail Gleckler dumped a short pass to high-scoring Addy Gleckler, who drilled a cross field bullet from way out on the right of the net into the opposite corner with 25:07 to go.
However, Bryan, who had a whopping 11 second-half shots, got the advantage back with 22 minutes on the clock.
In a scrum in front of the Evergreen net, Nash made an initial save, but the Vikings couldn’t clear the sphere, and Trinidee Baughman punched in a shot from short range to give Bryan the lead for good.
“Just quick feet,” said McQuillin regarding the go-ahead goal.
“We have Ava up on top and Piper (Hanna), Emma Slagle came in tonight and was a key with her speed, and we were able to finish in the back of the net.”
Slagle provided the clincher at the 18:24 mark when racing down the left side of the goal. She got ahead of a Viking defender and rifled a shot from left to right into the right side of the net.
Nash kept the Vikings in the contest, recording eight saves, many of which had a high difficulty level.
Bryan (6-2, 2-0 NWOAL) – Goals: Ava Zimmerman, Emaline Slagle, Trinidee Baughman; Assist: Piper Hanna; Saves: Mylie Vollmer – 5 saves
Evergreen (2-4-1, 1-1-1 NWOAL) – Goal: Addy Gleckler; Assist: Abagail Gleckler; Saves: Ellie Nash – 8