BROOKHAVEN — Ole Brook beat West Lincoln in a non district girls soccer match to open the 2023 season Tuesday night. Brookhaven High School had to go to penalty kicks to win after drawing 2-2 at full time to win 3-2. 

Brookhaven Head Coach Dustin Bairfield said Lucy Williams scored their first goal of the night early in the first half. Brookhaven dominated possession and creation of scoring chances for much of the first half. 

A breakaway by West Lincoln late in the first half led to pressure on the Panther back line. A Bear forward drew a foul inside the box to earn a penalty kick. Lari Reed stepped up to the spot and scored a gorgeous penalty kick as the ball clanged off of the top right corner. 

Reed would score again in the second half on a free kick from outside of the box to give her team the lead. West Lincoln’s bench exploded in celebration as Reed was swarmed with hugs from teammates. 

“It was exciting. I play on the defensive side so it is fun to go up top and help my team when I can,” Reed said. “They are very tough. We competed with them. I think we did well tonight.”

Brookhaven scored an equalizing goal late in the second half thanks to Hailey Breazeale to send the match to PKs. 

Reed scored her third goal of the night in the penalty kick shootout but it was not enough to lift the Bears to victory. She said she was a little nervous but focused her mind on scoring her shot. 

West Lincoln Head Coach Dane Hodges told his girls they improved as the game went along. The Bears will play at McComb on November 7 with kickoff set for 5 p.m. 

Reed is officially one game into her senior season. She started playing at West Lincoln when the Bears first started the program. Her brother and sister tried out so she gave soccer a shot in seventh grade and has stuck with it since then. 

“It is very sad. I’m not ready to leave. I’ll probably cry a lot this year but I’m excited too,” Reed said. “I love soccer. It is my favorite sport. I hope to play in college. I plan to go into elementary education because I want to be a teacher. I love kids and playing with kids. I think it is what God wants me to do.”