Troy soccer triumphs on Senior Night
Intent on containing Erick Guadron, Lake Hamilton found fellow Hot Springs senior Josue Hernandez too much to handle Friday night.
Hernandez scored two goals as Hot Springs celebrated Senior Night with a 4-0 victory at Reese Memorial Stadium. The teams play again Tuesday night at Wolf Stadium.
Trojan head coach Cory Sturdivant let only his 14 seniors play in the first half, Guadron setting the halftime score at 1-0 with a goal in the 37th minute.
“It was kind of like a snack-pack grab bag since we decided to go with all our seniors,” said Sturdivant. “I’ve got 14 seniors, and I told those guys that I’d give them the first half at least. We had a lot of people playing in different spots. For us to score a goal in the first half with a group that’s not really practiced in those positions together a whole lot, I was happy with that.”
Taking eight shots in the first half, Guadron was much on the mind of the Wolves.
“First half, we stayed with it and kept battling,” said Lake Hamilton coach Stan Cooper. “We gave up that one goal.”
Hot Springs’ regular starters returned in the
41st minute, though held in check for another
30 minutes. Lake Hamilton dodged a goal when a Trojan player stepped inside the penalty box, nullifying Guadron’s penalty kick after Wolf keeper Kenny Robeson took down Hernandez in the box.
“It was a little slow going, but that’s kind of been the way we’ve been operating all year,” Sturdivant said. “We finally got to clicking in the second half. I pulled my sweeper and moved him up to the midfield; we’ve been playing around with that a little bit and seeing what he could do for us.”
Less than a minute later, Guadron found Her-
nandez on a long cross that the senior striker slipped past Robeson for a 2-0 lead. Hernandez squeezed between a pair of defenders for a clear goal in the 38th minute and Johnathan Aquino connected from the right side of the penalty box with 46 seconds on the clock.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my kids,” Cooper said. “I’ve got some kids out tonight, and I think if we’d had those guys, toward the end, we might not have been as gassed as we were. It was 1-0 with 20 minutes left, and we gave up a few there at the end.”
Roberto Castro and Manny Santillan combined for 10 saves against Lake Hamilton, which managed only 17 shots. Hot Springs had 40 shots, 22 on target, with 16 saves by Robeson and two by Ian Bishop.
“I was having to throw some younger guys in there to give us air,” Cooper said. “It kinda took a toll on us there toward the end. We’re going to play them again come Tuesday at our place. We’re going to try to come up with a game plan and see what we can do with them.”
Depth, said Sturdivant, has been a key component to the Trojans’ 15-3 season.
“We’ve got some great kids that come off the bench and are tremendous,” he said. “Our depth has been super helpful this year, being able to give our midfield a break as they’re going up and down the field. If I can get those seniors in one more time, I’ll get them in, but I’m planning to stick to the regular plan right now.”
Hot Springs (9-2 in 5A/6A-6) ends conference play Tuesday night at Lake Hamilton and plays at Benton on Thursday. Lake Hamilton
(4-11, 1-8) is home against De Queen on Friday.
• Caitlyn Porter scored two goals in Lake Hamilton’s 6-0 victory over Hot Springs.
Porter scored in the 13th minute, then found Daya Ibarra on a cross in the 30th minute and scored again 80 seconds later.
Morgan Fincham (unassisted) and Nika Rydza scored in the last six minutes of the half.
“We started slow,” said Lake Hamilton head coach Stacey Scott. “The things that we’ve been working on in practice, which is passing and our crossing, we finally figured that out. We’ve finally started doing it, and we’ve finally started scoring. Once they’ve figured out that’s what it was going to take, we were able to continue.”
Hot Springs came out strongly in the second half, keeping Lake Hamilton off the board until Ibarra found Brooklyn Bailey on a cross in the 71st minute.
“We always try to say, ‘No matter what happens in the first half, it’s 0-0. What one can do in the first half, the other can do in the second half,’” said Hot Springs head coach Chelsie Sturdivant. “We always try to lead with that mentality and give it our all. I told them tonight, for these seniors, it’s the last time they’re going to play on this field, so win or lose, it doesn’t matter. It’s whether or not you gave your best, and when you leave this field, keep holding your head high and knowing you’re a Trojan and proud of it.”
Lake Hamilton “seemed a little sluggish the whole (second) half,” Scott said, but improved to 8-6 overall, 6-4 in conference.
“I don’t know if we were tired,” Scott said. “I don’t know if (it’s) sometimes when you get a lead, you let down, but you can’t do that. You’ve gotta keep pushing.”
Hot Springs (1-14-1, 0-11) has a rematch with Lake Hamilton Tuesday at Wolf Stadium before visiting Benton on Thursday.
“I feel like my girls have come out and played every game with all their heart, and they’ve given everything they had and left it on the field,” Sturdivant said. “That’s all you can ask as a coach. I’ve got a great group of girls this season. It doesn’t matter if we’re winning or we’re losing, they’re giving it their all and having fun, and that’s what you want.”