It’s all 7A-West in semifinals
FORT SMITH — Springdale Har-Ber beat Conway 2-0 on Friday and advanced into the Class 7A boys state semifinals for the second consecutive season.
And, like last year, the Wildcats (17-3) will face rival Springdale with a trip to the state finals on the line.
In the day’s first match, host Fort Smith Northside, the 7A-Central’s No. 1 seed, fell to Rogers Heritage, 2-1, in overtime. Har-Ber, the West’s No. 1 seed, cruised against Conway (11-11-1).
“It would have been a lot nicer if we could have put away some of those early chances,” Har-Ber Coach Cory Butler said. “But that last [goal] was good because it gave us a chance to rest a few players and be a little more at ease.”
Esteban Fuentes and Ivan Fuentes keyed Har-Ber’s quarterfinal victory, with top goal scorer Jesus Zizumbo out of the lineup. Esteban Fuentes scored late in the first half, taking a pass from Ivan Fuentes in the box and finding the net.
The score stood until late in the second half when Ivan Fuentes sealed the victory in the 68th minute.
ROGERS HERITAGE 2, FS NORTHSIDE 1 (2OT)
Pedro Garcia and the War Eagles (14-5) stunned host Northside (19-3) at Mayo-Thompson Stadium to advance to the class 7A state semifinals. Heritage will face Rogers today at 10 a.m.
Garcia found the net for his second goal 6:35 remaining in the second overtime period. The senior forward tied the match 1-1 in the 51st minute after the Grizzlies carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.
ROGERS 1, BRYANT 0
Mounties junior Willie Hernandez’s goal in the 52nd minute held up, lifting Rogers (14-5) over Bryant (12-8-1) and into today’s state semifinals against rival Rogers Heritage.
SPRINGDALE 3, LR CATHOLIC 1
Springdale (17-5) scored three goals in a 4:15 span in the second half, rallying from a 1-0 deficit to beat Little Rock Catholic and set up a semifinal matchup with Springdale Har-Ber.
Goals by Salvador Gonzalez, Jessie Gomez and Manuel Soto sealed the match.
Ivan Gault scored for Catholic (12-41) less than 10 minutes into the second half.