Chitty bang, bang with saves
GIRLS
BENTONVILLE 2, FAYETTEVILLE 0
FORT SMITH — Tayler Estrada gave Bentonville (134-2) the only goal it needed and Brittani Reagan added a late goal against Fayetteville (13-6-1) on Saturday in the semifinals of the Class 7A girls soccer state tournament, but it was the play of keeper Lexie Chitty that sent Bentonville to the championship game.
With her team leading 1-0, Chitty came up with five saves in a three-minute span in the second half as the Lady Tigers defeated the Lady Bulldogs 2-0 at Fort Smith Southside High School.
Bentonville will face Conway or Rogers Heritage in the Class 7A championship game at 2 p.m. Friday at Razorback Field in Fayetteville. Bentonville lost 3-0 to Conway in the title game last year.
Estrada gave Bentonville a 1-0 lead going into halftime with a direct kick from 25 yards out. But Fayetteville upped the pressure in the second half, and Chitty rose to the challenge.
Chitty made a diving save on a shot by Kara Tubb 10 minutes into the second half. Then the junior made four more stops over the next three minutes to help the Lady Tigers hang on to the lead.
“Lexie rose to the occasion, and I am tremendously proud of her,” Bentonville Coach Kris Henry said. “She sucked it up and did a great job.
“At halftime, I told them the storm was coming. I knew Fayetteville was going to throw everything at us. We got through that.”
Chitty gave credit to her teammates for clearing the ball after several of her saves.
“That was definitely scary,” Chitty said. “I knew I couldn’t let a goal in, and there was a lot of pressure, but that is what kept my adrenaline going. Every time they took a shot, my heart was just pumping.”
With Fayetteville upping the pressure in the second half, Reagan broke free for a goal with five minutes left that iced the victory.
“We were all over them, but we didn’t get that break that we needed,” Fayetteville Coach Joe Thoma said. “We told them at the half that we were going to be on them, so you have to be careful and watch the counter.
“They countered, and they got the one that put us away.”
Estrada’s goal with 14:29 left in the first half came on a shot over the outstretched hands of Fayetteville keeper Marissa Coyne.
“That was beautiful,” Henry said. “That was not savable.” CONWAY 1, ROGERS HERITAGE 0
Defending champion Conway (191-1) made an early goal hold up in a victory over Rogers Heritage (16-5-1) in the semifinals of the Class 7A state tournament.
Julia Pettit gave the Lady Wampus Cats all they needed with a goal 10 minutes into the game, and keeper Sydney Meyer made several key saves to help Conway return to the title game.
Heritage missed two direct kicks in the second half and Meyer stopped a hard shot by Audrey Rodriguez with 20 minutes left.