Benton senior earns AS MVP
CONWAY – Without scoring a goal in a 3-2 West win over the East in the AAA Allstar game at Estes Stadium in Conway recently, Benton soccer senior Julia Dick was named the Most Valuable Player. Adding an assist in the West win, Dick was just doing what came naturally, according to Benton Head Coach Jason Gentry, who was also an assistant for the West All-stars.
“It was just them (coaches her nominated Dick) seeing what she does, what we all knew what she does every day,” Gentry said. “And them actually seeing what she did during the game. It wasn’t major flashy, but she was making plays. She controlled the back line from the outside back position, which usually your center backs and keepers are the ones in control. But she was the one doing most of the communicating, she set the defense, she was able to cut off two or opportunities they had right in front of the goal just from her being where she’s supposed to be and playing hard.”
It wasn’t only her defense which earned her the MVP nod, as Dick, who signed to play soccer at Hendrix College earlier this year, began several offensive attacks.
“She started maybe three or four different counter attacks, got up the field and got a cross into the box and allowed that extra player to get up into the attack,” Gentry said. “When we moved her up to the midfield for five or 10 minutes in the second half, she did what she’s always done for us distributed the ball, played great defense in the midfield, she did what Julia does. She played hard and was really fun to watch. I was proud of her.”
Senior goalkeeper Rylie Davis also played for the West and was nominated captain.
“She played really, really well,”gentry said of Davis. “She probably had four or five saves.
“It was nothing I was shocked about with either one of them. Like in the coaches meeting, I told them these two right here are going to play as hard as they can possibly play. At one point, one of the other coaches came up to me and said, ‘Coach, your girls are really good.’ I said, ‘I tried to tell you that.’”
Dick, who was named All-state, finished her Lady Panthers career with 51 goals and 28 assists.
Davis was also named Allstate this past season, finishing her senior year with 60 saves and 11 shutouts. Davis was also named to the All Preps Second Team.