Merlos’ three goals not enough to break tie

BENTONVILLE — Eighty minutes of play wasn’t enough to decide a winner between Bentonville and Springdale Har-Ber.

Again.

Johnny Merlos had a hat trick for Bentonville but it wasn’t enough as the teams played to a 3-3 tie Tuesday in 6A-West Conference action at the Tiger Athletic Complex. It was the fourth tie for Har-Ber and third tie for Bentonville, which trailed 3-2 before Merlos scored his third goal on an assist by Hudson May with 9 minutes, 44 seconds left in the game.

Yahir Perez scored two goals and Fernando Roman one for Har-Ber, which forced a 2-2 tie with Bentonville when the teams met earlier this season in conference play.

“On the road, it’s always good to at least get a tie,” Springdale Har-Ber coach Cory Butler said. “Both teams are evenly matched and we both had lots of chances. It’s hard to beat teams in this conference. There’s been a lot of ties and here’s another one.”

Merlos scored twice on assists from Andrew Wagner. Merlos’ second goal came with 35:57 left after Har-Ber (3-1-4) had taken a 2-1 lead at halftime on two goals by Perez. Wagner attacked from the left side and was almost even with the Har-Ber goal when he delivered a centering pass to Merlos, who scored easily.

The scoring opportunities for both teams increased in the second half. Har-Ber regained the lead after Jesus Rodriguez attacked from the left side and passed to Perez, who delivered a solid kick into the corner of the Bentonville net. The second goal by Perez came less than two minutes after Merlos scored for Bentonville (3-3-3) to tie the game 1-1.

“(Perez) is a good forward and he usually finishes his chances,” Butler said. “We’ve got to get him some more chances so he can finish a few more.”

Roman put Har-Ber ahead 3-2 before Bentonville tied the game again on the third game of the game by Merlos. Bentonville had a late opportunity to break the tie on a penalty kick, but the Tigers could not get off an accurate attempt near the net.

Har-Ber’s first goal came after Evan Shank went high to snag a long free kick by Jonathan Ruvalcaba from about 30 yards out. But Shank dropped the ball unintentionally and Perez was right there by the goal to kick the ball into net.