Rams upset undefeated Hornets

HARRISON — Lakeside needed an extra 20 minutes to upset the top-seeded team from the 5A-West as the Rams took a 3-2 win over Maumelle Thursday afternoon at Equity Bank Field in Harrison.

Going into the Class 5A state tournament off back-toback losses, the Rams (16-6-1) did not let the fact that the Hornets (15-1) had not lost a game since last season slow them down.

“They’re a good team,” said Lakeside head coach Craig Moses. “They can play. They were the one-seed. I watched film on them, and I knew they could. They spread you out and move the ball real well.

“I was really proud of my guys. Our game plan was to go in and get in their face — just being on them all the time and not letting them have that easy touch. … It just felt like it was in the 5A-South again. It was just a battle.”

Philip Gayle was the man of the match for the Rams, scoring two of the team’s three goals, both coming during regulation play.

Gayle’s first goal came around the 26:30 mark when he took advantage of a block by the Hornets’ goalkeeper. Miguel Arreola put up a shot, but the keeper blocked the shot high, knocking the ball in front of the senior forward. Gayle’s first shot bounced off the right post, but he immediately tried again, putting it in to give the Rams the early lead.

Maumelle responded at the 18:35 mark after the Rams were called for a foul in the box. The penalty kick was good,

knotting the score as the game was paused for a water break due to the heat.

Gayle put the Rams back on top before the halftime break off a cross from Grant Viscardis. The sophomore striker crossed the ball in, but a Maumelle player stepped in to defend. Viscardis was able to knock it away to Gayle, whose strong finish made it 2-1.

Maumelle once again brought the score level as a header went through Devin Nieto’s hands with 22 minutes left to play.

With the score tied at the end of regulation, the game was sent to overtime. Unlike during the regular season, tied games in the state tournament go to two 10-minute sudden-death overtime periods before going to penalty kicks.

Both teams made attempts at the goal in the extra period, but neither could find the back of the goal, sending the game into a second overtime period.

This time, Viscardis was able to score with 40 seconds remaining to put the Rams into today’s quarterfinal game.

The Rams are set to face Batesville (15-8) today at noon at Harrison’s Sheridan Garrison Field. Batesville, which was the No. 2 seed from the 5A-East, took a 3-1 victory over Little Rock Parkview (10-9-1) Thursday.

“I don’t know anything about them,” Moses said of the Pioneers. “The only thing I do know is they have to be good; they made it this far. We’ve just got to get our mind right tonight, get good rest and get ready for another battle tomorrow.”

Girls

HARRISON — Lakeside never quit fighting, but, in the end, Greenbrier took advantage of Lady Ram missteps to take a 3-0 win in the first round of the Class 5A state soccer tournament at Larson Farm Field in Harrison.

The Lady Rams (10-12) went into the match against the Lady Panthers (17-4), the third seed from the 5A-West, with a strong game plan, but small mistakes led to each of the three goals Greenbrier scored.

The first goal came with 11:40 remaining in the first half as the Lady Panthers scored off a free kick that went through keeper Jessica Bishop’s hands.

“They were hungry for it,” Lakeside head coach Karrie Irwin said. “They wanted it. They were going after the ball. The way we usually play, we’re just real physical. They kind of got called for everything, and that’s how they got that first goal, just us being physical.”

Greenbrier doubled up its lead at the 5:50 mark as another free kick resulted in a goal.

“Their girls just charged in,” Irwin said. “They just followed it in. Jessica just bobbled it; she wasn’t having her best game. They followed it in.”

The Lady Panthers sealed their trip to the quarterfinals with 11:11 left in the second half as they put in their third and final goal of the day.

“We tried to make one last attempt with about 20 minutes left. We thought, ‘This is it. We’ve got to make our attack.’ They were all in there, all wanting to. They weren’t down. They were in there the whole time working hard.”