Bombers earn draw with Panthers
The Siloam Springs boys soccer team’s lack of offensive punch came back to cost the Panthers again Thursday afternoon.
Mountain Home scored a goal to take a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute. Siloam Springs got an equalizer less than three minutes later, but neither team could produce anymore goals as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
“The boys played really, really hard,” said Mountain Home coach Nathan Criner. “We met Siloam at Mountain Home earlier in the season. It was 2-0. So we were coming in today to get a win, but we’re happy with a point going into this second round of conference play.”
Siloam Springs handed Mountain Home (8-6-2, 2-4-2 5A-West) its first loss 2-0 on March 15 at Bomber Stadium.
The tie gave the Bombers another point in the league table as they’re fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot.
“Us, Greenbrier, Greenwood, Vilonia we’re all in that mix,” Criner said. “Four teams hooking up competing for htat fourth spot.”
Mountain Home got its goal on a counter attack goal by James Douglas with 27 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the game.
The Panthers answered with 25:01 left when Erik Gomez scored from about 30 yards out to tie the game.
The Panthers (8-2-4, 5-1-2) had a couple of opportunities down the stretch that they were not able to cash in on.
Siloam Springs head coach Luke Shoemaker complimented the play of the Bombers.
“Mountain Home, they deserved that draw,” Shoemaker said. “They worked for it. They had a lot of chances on the counter. We talked about it at halftime, don’t fall asleep on the counter.”
Shoemaker pointed to the Panthers’ lack of goal-scoring prowess. It cost Siloam Springs in a 1-1 draw at Greenwood on March 29 and in an 1-0 loss to Van Buren on April 5.
“If you don’t put a team away you give them hope,” Shoemaker said. “Our lack of being able to put the ball in the back of the net only gives teams time and time and time to try and muster up a goal, and that’s going to kill us unless we find a way.”
Shoemaker said the Panthers are continuing to work on finishing.
“Every drill that we’ve been emphasizing at this point has been a finishing drill, and at some point someone has to step up,” he said. “I rarely ever try to call a team out through the newspaper, but this team’s going to have to find a way. Because there’s nothing else we can say, do or make them to get that ball there. They’re going to have to step up to find a way.”
The Panthers are back in action at home Tuesday against Alma.