Panthers shut down Maumelle in Central action
BENTON – The Benton Panthers soccer team pitched their sixth straight shutout to open the season with a
3-0 win over the Maumelle Hornets in 5A Central Conference play Thursday at Panther Stadium in Benton. The win puts the Panthers at 5-0-1 overall, 3-0 in the Central going into senior night Tuesday against Jacksonville in Benton.
“It was a good game,” said Benton Coach Bobby Winn. “Maumelle has some talented players and they played really hard.”
After a slow start to the match Thursday and a zero-zero tie at the half, the Panthers picked things up in the second half early when junior Dillon Bosley scored a goal in the first minute with the assist going to senior Angel Gomez.
“We had plenty of shots, but their keeper is a taller keeper and I made a coaching error,” Winn said. “I didn’t
tell the kids to shoot lower. We made the adjustment at the half and starting putting more shots on the ground. He blocked 11 shots in the first half. Within a minute of the second half we scored. The same exact stuff, just different shooting angles.”
After the Bosley goal, the Panthers would have scored the second goal but the Hornets had an own goal for the 2-0 Benton lead. Benton capped it when Bosley hit sophomore Eric Padron for a score and 3-0 final.
The Panthers have outscored their opponents 30-0 this season, but with the new conference, Winn admits he
doesn’t exactly know where they stand.
“I don’t know how good we are, don’t know how bad we are,” he said. “I don’t know yet.”
But his Panthers are playing how he wants them to play.
“We’re playing really well, possessing the ball really well,” Winn said. “That’s how I like to play the game. Beat you with fundamentals.
“They (Hornets) were a big team across the board, height-wise, size-wise. They had one who was 6-5, another 6-3, so you have to play your game. For a 20-minute span we played their game where they were trying to play big, long balls, corner kicks and throw-ins.”
Per usual, not allowing a goal through the first
six matches, the Panther defense has been performing well.
“We played really solid on the back end,” Winn said. “Bryan Araujo (goalkeeper) blocked six shots. Our back line is playing really good again, limiting their opportunities. The kids are playing hard.”
It helps when Winn can throw fresh bodies on the field at any given time, something he hasn’t had the luxury of doing in past seasons.
“I probably played 15 kids,” Winn said. “That’s a rarity. I usually don’t have that option.”
The Benton Lady Panthers fell for the first time in conference play Thursday, losing 2-1 to the Lady Hornets. Benton goes to 3-2-1 overall, 2-1 in the Central.