Familiar foes set for semifinals
FAYETTEVILLE 3, CONWAY 2
BRYANT — Bentonville put an end to Fayetteville’s state-title bid a year ago, but the Lady Bulldogs will get a chance to repay the favor.
Eleanor Lock scored goals in each half to lift Fayetteville to a 3-2 victory over Conway on Friday during the quarterfinals of the Class 6A girls state soccer tournament at Hornet Stadium.
Howerton Bennett also scored for the Lady Bulldogs, who got the kind of battle Coach Joe Thoma said he was expecting out of the Lady Wampus Cats.
“I thought it’d be like that, I really did,” he said. “I would’ve loved for it to be 3-1. Then again, it’s two good teams getting after it. But it’s survive and advance.
“We’ve just got to recover now and try to give Bentonville a good game [Saturday].”
Past history indicates that a good game is likely what will unfold when the 6A-West Conference rivals meet in the semifinals. The teams played to a 1-1 tie when they faced off in April. There’s also the fact that Bentonville beat the Lady Bulldogs 3-0 in the state final last season.
But an air of familiarity also existed between Fayetteville (11-2-1) and Conway (15-5) prior to Friday’s match.
The Lady Wampus Cats lost to the Lady Bulldogs 4-1 on March 2 during an early-season tournament in Faulkner County. Fayetteville also knocked Conway out of the 2022 postseason when they it grabbed a 1-0 victory in Round 2, which also occurred on the Lady Wampus Cats’ home field.
Their most recent encounter was just as tight. Neither team gave up much over the first 15 minutes until Fayetteville found an opening on the game’s first shot attempt. Lock drilled a high archer just inside the right bar and inches past the hands of Conway’s Emily Huffman to give the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.
Conway, which spent a large chunk of the first half on Fayetteville’s end of the field, nearly scored on a corner kick during the 36th minute. But Fayetteville’s Lindsey Robbins came up with a diving save just before the ball sailed through to help her team preserve a 1-0 halftime lead.
The teams combined for just five shots over the initial 40 minutes, but that changed after the break. Both pressed the issue much more in the second half, particularly Conway. The Lady Wampus eventually tied the match at 1-1 in the 50th minute when Alexes Onyeyiri buried a shot from a tough angle.
Fayetteville moved back out front in the 64th minute on a blast from Lock.
“I really thought we should’ve scored two to start the half,” Thoma said. “We didn’t, but if we did, then it’s 3-0, and it’s a different kind of game. I’m sure [Conway] still fights, but it’s a different team at that point.
“But their two kids up front [Onyeyiri and Dekeria Carter] are so fast, and they never quit. You give them an inch, and they’re right there. We’re a young team, and we showed that at the weirdest times. And then, sometimes we play really nice, like on that third goal, which I thought was a thing of beauty.”
The Lady Bulldogs did push their lead to 3-1 in the 78th minute on a shot from Bennett. Conway notched another goal by Carly Pate with 45 seconds left, but the
Lady Wampus Cats weren’t able to get close enough during the final moments to extend the match.
“I’m happy with how we battled against a really good team,” Thoma said. “It’s going to take a lot for us to do the same against Bentonville because they’re rolling right now. Our girls know each other, too.
“For the last four years, us and Bentonville have been back and forth. So we’re going to go into it and try to find a way to win it.”
BENTONVILLE 5, ROGERS HERITAGE 0
The defending Class 6A state champions cruised from start to finish in eliminating the Lady War Eagles.
Graci Jones and Kayla Hurley scored two goals apiece for Bentonville (162-1), which had 27 shot opportunities compared to five for Heritage (10-6-2). Hurley scored first in the 22nd minute and Jones followed with a goal in the 32nd minute to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead at halftime.
The two did the same in the second half, with Hurley connecting in the 47th minute and Jones scoring in the 53rd minute. Sofia Suchara got in on things with a goal down the middle during the 66th minute.
BENTONVILLE WEST 2, BRYANT 0
For the second straight season, Bentonville West (11-6-2) put an end to the Lady Hornets’ season.
Peyton Nordby scored in the 12th minute and Katie Meeker got a goal in during the 41st minute for the Lady Wolverines, who also outlasted Bryant (19-4-2) 2-1 in the first round in 2023.
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Lady Hornets, who had just four shots in the first half. Bentonville West attempted 15 shots and made its two-goal lead stand after halftime.
ROGERS 2,
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 0
Two second-half goals moved Rogers (11-5-1) within a game of the state final.
With the scored tied 0-0 at halftime, the Lady Mounties scored in the 55th minute when a deflection
led to a score. Rogers, which beat Northside (10-6-2) 3-2 in April, padded its lead in the 73rd minute on a shot from Deja Martinez.