Marroquin’s goal a welcomed sight
■ Siloam Springs boys soccer team defeated Clarksville 4-0 on Tuesday.
Perhaps the best thing to come out of the Siloam Springs boys soccer team’s 4-0 victory over Clarksville on Tuesday was what occurred with 3 minutes, 26 seconds left in the game. Junior forward Christian Marroquin, who had been held in check offensively for much of the season, scored from around 35 yards out on a free kick for a 3-0 Siloam Springs lead. The rocket shot was Marroquin’s third goal of the season and a welcomed sight for Siloam Springs, who had high expectations for Marroquin this season after he led the team with 20 goals and 12 assists a year ago and was named the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Newcomer of the Year.
Marroquin scored a goal in the season-opener against Bentonville West on Feb. 28, but he went 13 games without scoring before converting a penalty kick against Russellville on April 3.
“He’s a great player, and I think he’s lacked a little confidence,
so hopefully that will regain his confidence on what he can do,” Siloam Springs head coach Brent Crenshaw said of Marroquin. “He’s so good on that left foot. He’s such a good player. He hit that as well as you can hit a ball.”
Siloam Springs (9-4-3, 4-0) picked up its fifth straight win since coming back from spring break and its second win over Clarksville this season. Siloam Springs defeated Clarksville 1-0 in the Northwest Arkansas Showcase on March 3 in the first battle of Panthers.
Siloam Springs scored a pair of first half goals to take a 2-0 lead in Tuesday’s game.
In the eighth minute, Danny Daugherty scored off a cross from Gerson Matias for Siloam Springs’ first goal with 32:47 left in the first half.
With 10:50 remaining before halftime, a free kick from Brian Andrade found the head of Jack Bos who scored for a 2-0 lead.
Siloam Springs got its final goal with nine seconds in the game when Andrade shook off a defender, went right and fired for the goal.
Clarksville did have some shots but goalkeeper Wyatt Church was up to the challenge in recording Siloam Springs’ seventh shutout of the season.
“I thought we went through a spell there in the second half where they had a little more possession than we did,” Crenshaw said. “But we were able to predict shots from midfield and they didn’t have really any good chances from inner 18.”
Harrison game postponed
The Panthers’ match against Harrison on Friday was postponed due to inclement weather.
The match is rescheduled for 4 p.m. April 23.