Fayetteville boys rout Siloam Springs

BOYS SOCCER FAYETTEVILLE 8, SILOAM SPRINGS 0

FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville is off to an impressive start after a disappointing finish last year in boys soccer.

The Bulldogs scored in clusters to defeat Siloam Springs 8-0 Tuesday in nonconference action at Harmon Field. Silas Robinson scored three goals for Fayetteville, which led 3-0 at halftime and 5-0 early in the second half following goals by Robinson and Jadir Alvarado.

Fayetteville is 5-0 with a goal differential of 26 to 3. Siloam Springs fell to 0-5.

The match started under hazy conditions at Harmon Field because of a controlled burn west of Fayetteville. But the smoke mostly disappeared by halftime in the 80-minute match and did not appear to affect the players.

Robinson and Gonzales provided the highlight of the game when the two combined on a goal to put Fayetteville ahead 4-0 with 28 minutes left in the match. Gonzales dribbled to the right side of the Siloam Springs goal and fed a perfect pass to Robinson, who drilled a kick into the net.

Robinson is one of eight seniors for Fayetteville, which was eliminated 1-0 by Rogers Heritage last year in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state tournament at Cabot.

“Silas, he’s a captain for a reason,” Fayetteville Coach Brent Crenshaw said. “He’s been a leader for years but he’s been banged up. His sophomore and juniors years he had some injuries, so he didn’t play a lot. This summer he really hit the weight room, got fit, and took care of his body. Look at him now and he’s pretty impressive.”

Tuesday’s game was a rematch from three days ago when Fayetteville shut out the Panthers 4-0. Teams from the 6A-West Conference will play more non-league games than in the past after the coaches decided on a single round-robin format with the addition of Fort Smith Northside that expanded the league to nine members. Conference play in the 6A-West doesn’t begin until the week of April 4.

Fayetteville led 3-0 at halftime following goals by Robinson, Sebastian Marzana, and Gonzales, who scored on a penalty kick. Robinson placed a kick into the Siloam Springs net about 10 minutes into the match but the goal was disallowed because of an off sides call. Robinson came back seconds later and made this one count when he delivered a hard kick past the Siloam Springs goalie.

Fayetteville scored five times in the second half to complete the rout.

Fayetteville expects to be tested this weekend in Tulsa, where the Bulldogs will play programs like Edison and Bixby.