Fayetteville rolls all over Har-Ber

FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville appears to be rounding into form halfway through conference play.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped to a three-goal lead at halftime and defeated Springdale Har-Ber 3-0 Tuesday in 6A-West Conference action at Harmon Field. Jayden Tyler, Lauren Magre and Caroline Bertalotto scored goals for Fayetteville, the defending state champions in Class 6A.

Fayetteville (9-3, 5-2) is on a roll after winning for the fifth time in its past six games.

“This team is finding themselves,” Fayetteville coach Joe Thoma said. “Early on, the games where we were going to play really tough competition got snowed out. We didn’t get to play that high-level competition to kind of find out who we were. So, we’re just kind of jelling and figuring out what it takes to win at the 6A level.”

Fayetteville had holes to fill after losing top players like Maddie Wilburn, the MVP of last year’s state tournament. But the Lady Bulldogs appear to be making a move upward again with a team led by Lauren Magre, who had 17 goals and eight assists last year as a sophomore.

“We have a lot of new, young talent that’s had to step up and fill the roles of the teammates we lost last year,” said Magre, who scored three goals last week in a 6-1 win at Rogers Heritage. “We started off rocky with two losses against Bentonville and West. But as we get more time on the field, I think we’ll challenge those teams more than we have.”

Fayetteville will get that chance on Thursday when the Lady Bulldogs host West at Harmon Field to begin the second half of 6A-West Conference play.

The Lady Bulldogs dominated throughout Tuesday, especially in the first half with a strong wind at their backs. Fayetteville got on the board six minutes into the match when Tyler scored on an assist from Eleanor Lock. Magre then scored eight minutes later for a 2-0 Fayetteville lead. Har-Ber goalie Keirnan Jones initially stopped a long shot from the right side and a follow attempt in front of the net. But Magre converged on the loose ball and blasted a kick into the net.

The score stood at 2-0 until Bertalotto used her left foot to give Fayetteville a commanding three-goal lead with just seconds before halftime.

Fayetteville had an opportunity to increase its lead with a penalty kick midway through the second half. But Jones, the senior goalie for Har-Ber, blocked the penalty kick and a rebound attempt before wrapping her arms around the ball to end the threat.