Bryant puts halt to Bentonville’s run

7A GIRLS SOCCER

BRYANT 2, BENTONVILLE 1

BRYANT — For the first time since 2011, there will be a new Class 7A girls soccer state champion.

Bryant defeated three-time defending state champion Bentonville 2-1 on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Class 7A girls soccer state tournament at Hornet Stadium to advance to next Saturday’s state championship game against Fayetteville.

Bryant (20-2) had only one shot on goal in the second half, but Caroline Campbell made it count.

After striker Anna Lowery was taken down inside the penalty area in the 37th minute of the second half by Bentonville defender Gia Diaz, who received a yellow card, Campbell put the penalty kick into the right side of the net for a 2-1 lead.

“Anna has been on those breakaways all season, but she never gets the call so it looks like that every time,” Bryant Coach Julie Long said. “I’m just glad somebody finally gave it to her, because she doesn’t weight very much and she gets shoved around. It was one of those moments.”

Before the penalty kick, Bryant goal keeper Maddie Hawkins made four crucial saves to stop Bentonville opportunities.

“They came out fired up in the second half and Maddie had at least four huge saves for us,” Long said. “We knew going into this game that it was going to be the toughest. We had played them earlier in the season and we knew what they had. It was almost just like this game, but it was 3-2 and we won on penalty kicks. We were tired, but the girls fought through.”

Bryant opened the scoring with a goal by Lowery in the second minute, but Bentonville (19-5) got a goal from McKenzie Dixon in the 22nd minute to tie it at 1-1.

Defensively, Bryant fought off 10 shots on goal in the second half.

“Our defense bent but didn’t break,” Long said. “For the most part, [Bentonville] didn’t score on any other chances except for a free kick.”

FAYETTEVILLE 0, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 0

(5-4 PKS)

After an hour weather delay for lightning in the area during the second half, it took 100 minutes of scoreless play and six penalty kicks for Fayetteville to earn the victory.

Mariam Bartlett’s penalty kick in sudden death and a missed shot by Springdale Har-Ber’s Alyssa Rocco gave Fayetteville a 5-4 victory on penalty kicks .

“We know them so well and they know us so well,” Fayetteville Coach Joe Thoma said. “All these girls play club soccer together and Har-Ber just played fantastic. The game was 0-0, but it wasn’t because either of us were playing bad. Har- Ber was playing really well on defense and just stopping us. We didn’t have any good looks on offense, but they didn’t have a lot of good looks either. Both teams were grinding it out, but you just have to persevere for that.”

In the penalty kick phase, Faytteville goal keeper Gracie Cape made a block that intensified the kicking pressure of Har-Ber. A high miss by Fayetteville allowed a 4-4 tie before Bartlett’s kick and Cape’s defense in the net.

“We’ve been practicing penalties all year and doing the little things to kind of get us ready, and this is what happens,” Thoma said. “I am so proud of the girls for stepping up and of Gracie for making a big save. We tell her in situations like this to just get us a save, and she did.”

Both teams missed chances in the first half. Fayetteville missed three corner kicks and Har-Ber had six corner kicks within five minutes, but neither was able to get the ball into the net.

Fayetteville’s Berklie Young received a yellow card in the 37th minute, but a penalty kick by Evie Cannon missed wide for Har-Ber. Fayetteville got two more chances at the goal on corner kicks in the last minute, but failed to score.

Fayetteville ( 16- 6- 1) stopped Har-Ber (16-7) early in the second half with a saved shot on goal, but couldn’t get three of its own shots to go in before the weather delay at the 31 minute mark. Berklie Young’s kick on goal in the 33rd minute was high of its mark and in the 35th minute, Fayetteville couldn’t convert on a free kick.

In the final three minutes, Har-Ber’s Vanessa Reynoso’s shot on goal was saved and Rocco hit the top of the cross bar on her try.

In the two 10-minute overtime periods, Har-Ber took four shots on goal to Fayetteville’s two.

“It wasn’t a pretty game to watch for anybody, but it was an exciting game and an intense game,” Thoma said. “It’s what a state semifinal should be.”