Springdale opens with rout of NLR
CABOT — Springdale began its 2021 title defense by defeating North Little Rock 6-1 on Thursday in the opening round of the Class 6A boys state soccer tournament.
The Charging Wildcats scored first at the 20-minute mark thanks to a 35-yard strike from Abraham Bravo, but that lead would be shortlived.
Springdale drew level at 1-1 five minutes later on a goal from Mike Solis. At the 27-minute mark a North Little Rock (7-8-3) defender was called for a hand ball resulting in a successful penalty kick by Springdale for a 2-1 advantage.
Bravo’s goal would be North Little Rock’s lone goal, but that didn’t mean that the Charging Wildcats didn’t cause Springdale (64-4) some problems. The Charging Wildcats’ front line had a sizable speed advantage over the Bulldogs and their attackers came within an errant touch of scoring on multiple occasion.
“We weren’t organized enough with how to deal with [their] two forwards,” Springdale Coach Donald Beeler. “We tried to sort it out in the first half, but that’s difficult to do when the game’s going on. Once we got that sorted out at halftime that kinda limited their opportunities.”
Beeler knew coming in as the defending state champion that the Bulldogs would have to respond to the pressures. He felt the team handled them after the two firsthalf scores.
“We went down to start the game, so to see the response to get the goal back quickly and then to go ahead 2-1 going into half was really good to see because this can be a big mental challenge for the kids with everything that’s on the line,” Beeler said.
Coming out of halftime with a 2-1 lead, Springdale’s Bryan Bartolo got the scoring started in the second half with a solo goal nine minutes in.
Johnny Rodriguez netted two goals within three minutes to make it 5-1. The second goal was Beeler’s sign to bring on the reserves as nine players were substituted for moments later.
The reserves got in on the fun with two minutes left in the match as Jose Damian slipped a shot through North Little Rock’s near post.
“I think getting the first half out of the way, understanding that we can do it, we just gotta relax a little bit and be more composed in the critical moments,” Beeler said. “We had created the chances in the first half, but we just weren’t very sharp in the final third. Once we got that sorted out, goals started to fall for us.”
ROGERS HERITAGE 3, LR CENTRAL 1
Rogers Heritage (5-5-2) advanced to the second round with a victory over Little Rock Central (5-8-3) in the tournament opener.
Junior Brandon Gallardo got the scoring started for the War Eagles with a goal 38 seconds into the match.
Heritage senior Martin Duran took full advantage of a free kick with 4:15 left in the first half for the War Eagles’ second goal.
Midway through the second half, Duran set up Heritage’s third goal, crossing the ball to the chest of Gallardo who laid it off for senior Miguel Reyes to finish.
A few minutes later, the Tigers got their lone score as Mohammed Alsiri finished a counter-attack to bring it to 3-1.
LITTLE ROCK CATHOLIC 0, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 0 (4-3 PKS)
Springdale Har-Ber (4-4-1) and Little Rock Catholic (8-8-3) played 100 minutes before a ball hit the back of the net.
Neither team had many chances with the majority of the game being played in the midfield, but Springdale Har-Ber goalkeeper David Barroso made a key save near the end of regulation to send the game to extra time.
After 80 minutes of regulation, and 20 minute of extra time, the game went to penalty kicks.
Both teams missed their first kicks before converting the next six combined to make it 3-3 heading into the final two.
Little Rock Catholic’s Edwin Arredondo scored on his team’s fifth penalty kick for the win.
BENTONVILLE WEST 2, BRYANT 1
Jesus Hernandez’s goal in the 63rd minute broke a 1-1 tie and lifted Bentonville West (4-5) over Bryant (106-3) to advance to the second round.
In the 37th minute, Bryant’s Josh Lasley was taken down by a defender and was awarded a penalty. Caleb Miller converted from the penalty spot to put the Hornets ahead 1-0.
In the 53rd minute, a free kick for Bentonville West brought things level at 1-1 as Stefan Gerlei assisted Josh Buxton’s goal from 30 yards.
Hernandez scored from the penalty spot for the game-winner. It was his second penalty shot of the match, with his first being saved by the Bryant goalkeeper in the fourth minute.