Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Fayetteville girls down rival Springdale on pitch
FAYETTEVILLE — Joe Thoma finally saw what he’s known his team could do all year.
The Fayetteville soccer coach has seen his team score in practice, only to see them struggle to have the same consistency in matches. On Friday, his Lady Bulldogs carried it into a key 7A-West Conference match as they scored five goals en rout to a 5-1 win against league-leading Springdale High at Harmon Stadium.
“(Frustration) comes off the last couple of matches where we couldn’t find a goal,” Thoma said. “It’s so frustrating. In practice, we’re scoring goals. Sometimes you can’t score in practice, and you can score in games. This group scores, and it’s just a matter of putting it together.”
The Lady Bulldogs (9-6, 3-3 7A-West) did just that Friday night, peppering the Springdale keeper with 13 shots on goal. The result was open looks from close range that found the back of the net.
“The finishing was exceptional today. We had some quality goals, and we worked hard to get them. That was really on all of us,” Thoma said. “We talked about pressuring in their end of the field but also having our girls in the right spaces. Once we got the ball (in the Springdale end) we had people in the right places to get a look and get a finish.”
As a result, Fayetteville put together a first-half scoring spurt that saw the Lady Bulldogs pull away with three goals in a span of five minutes. Georgia Templeton took a Myra Tubb pass for the match’s first goal in the 25th minute. Templeton assisted on the next goal, connecting with Allison Byars for a two-nil lead. Tubb then scored her own goal with 10 minutes 13 seconds remaining in the first half.
“We were giving them way too much space in the midfield,” Springdale coach DJ Beeler said. “Our inability to close down space, and giving them all of that room, really led to their ability to move the ball and attack. We didn’t do a good job of that, and you saw the results.”
Springdale (6-6-1, 4-2) cut the lead to two when Adrianna Parsons beat the Fayetteville keeper on the right side for the score in the 51st minute. The Lady Red Dogs would get no closer, though, as Kamilla Sarvestani and Jess Robinson scored in the second half to knot the final score.
Springdale returns to 7A West Conference play on Tuesday, when it hosts Rogers, while Fayetteville will travel to Van Buren. BENTONVILLE HIGH 2, ROGERS HERITAGE 1
Madison Howard accounted for both of Bentonville’s goals as the Lady Tigers edged Heritage at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
After both teams battled through a scoreless first half, Howard needed only 40 seconds to pick up an assist from Anna Passmore and scored Bentonville’s first goal. Howard scored again 5 minutes left to give the Lady Tigers (10-2-1, 5-1) a 2-0 cushion, while Mary Grace Brackett accounted for Heritage’s lone goal.
ROGERS HIGH 4, BENTONVILLE WEST 0
Skylurr Patrick scored two goals and added an assist to help the Lady Mounties blank the Lady Wolverines in 7A-West Conference action Friday.
Patrick’s goal off a free kick gave Rogers (9-3-1, 5-1 7A-West) a 1-0 lead at halftime. Haley Arrack and Grace Carroll added second-half goals, along with another from Patrick. Ashlyn Babbitt and Jourdan Badely chipped in with an assist each.
BOYS
ROGERS HERITAGE 3, BENTONVILLE HIGH 1
Heritage made the most of free-kick opportunities as the War Eagles knocked off Bentonville at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
Chris Cano connected on a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box and broke a 1-1 tie with 18:54 left in the first half. Heritage (6-5, 2-4) had a free-kick attempt blocked in the second half, but Oscar Rivas picked up the deflection and scored on a header for the final game.
Antonio Hurtado gave the War Eagles a 1-0 lead on a kick from inside the box less than 5 minutes into the match, but Bentonville (4-5, 2-4) countered when Elliot Nimrod scored on a free kick with 14:30 left in the first half. BENTONVILLE WEST 2, ROGERS HIGH 1
Brayden Douthet’s goal midway through the second half proved to be the game-winner as West knocked off Rogers at Whitey Smith Stadium.
Tom Shultz provided the assist as he delivered the ball on a corner kick to Douthet, who connected with a header into the corner of the goal.
West (5-7-1, 2-4) led 1-0 at halftime as Slade Pearson scored off Blake McDoulett’s
courner kick. Rogers (8-4-1, 4-2) then scored the tying goal 5 minutes into the second half. SPRINGDALE HIGH 4, FAYETTEVILLE 0
Jose Vega scored two goals in the first half, and another in the second for the hat trick, as the Red Dogs defeated Fayetteville to remain unbeaten on the season.
Vega scored two goals in a two-minute span of the second half. The first came on a penalty kick in the 22nd minute. The second, came in the 24th minute when Vega knocked a shot off the Fayetteville keeper, who’d come out to defend on the play, which barely dribbled past the goal line.
Jonny Miranda scored for Springdale, with a one-timer in the 66th minute. SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 5, VAN BUREN 0
Sandro Ramirez scored two goals and two Wildcats’ keepers combined on a shutout in goal.
Juan Barroso, Juan Mejia and Luis Lopez also scored goals for the Wildcats.
Jonathan Sandoval started in goal for Har-Ber and Eduardo DeLaTorre finished the match.