Underclassmen spark Lady Panthers’ rally

6A GIRLS SOCCER SILOAM SPRINGS 5, MOUNTAIN HOME 2

SEARCY — Falling behind 2-0 with 19 minutes, 45 seconds left in the second half Saturday against Mountain Home in the Class 6A semifinals was an eye- opening experience for the Siloam Springs girls soccer team.

The defending 6A state champions had just taken a punch to the jaw with Mountain Home’s first goal by Ana Helmert minutes by earlier, and the second goal by Helmert put the Lady Panthers in a sizable hole with not much time remaining.

But Siloam Springs wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.

The Lady Panthers scored two quick goals to tie the game up with 12:25 remaining, and Siloam Springs went on to score three more against a deflated Lady Bombers squad in a 5-2 victory at Lion Stadium.

“I learned today how much heart our team has,” said Siloam Springs senior midfielder Kaylie Lane. “In all honesty, I wasn’t sure if we were in that situation (down two goals) that we would be able to come out of it. My team showed me today that I was wrong and I never should have doubted them.”

Siloam Springs ( 13- 4) punched its ticket to its third straight 6A state championship game, which will be played at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Lady Panthers will play Searcy in the state finals after the Lady Lions defeated Greenwood 1-0 later on Saturday. Searcy defeated Siloam Spring 3-1 in the 2013 6A state title game.

Siloam Springs’ seniors were sophomores in that game two years ago, and two years later on Saturday they watched two freshmen and a sophomore leading the offensive charge for the Lady Panthers in the final 15 minutes.

Down 2-0, freshman Megan Hutto got the Lady Panthers on the scoreboard with a goal assisted by junior Ana Linch with 15:17 left in the game.

Freshman Audrey Maxwell tied it up less than three minutes later when she corralled a Lane cross and scored with 12:25 remaining to tie the game 2-2.

Hutto — who had three goals in Siloam Springs’ 5-0 win against Texarkana on Friday — scored again with 7:37 remaining to give the Lady Panthers the lead 3-2. On this goal, Hutto caught the rebound of a Maxwell header that hit the post and kicked it in for the go-ahead score.

“We fight hard,” Hutto said. “We literally leave everything on the field.”

Less than a minute later, the Lady Panthers continued their charge and a Lane cross found sophomore Maycee Lance for a goal and a 4-2 lead with 6:46 remaining.