Leopards, Lady Leopards show aggressive energy in tough home losses to Hope
During an evening of cold and freezing temperatures of senior high soccer competition Thursday, the hometown Malvern Leopard and Lady Leopards came up short of victories to the visiting Hope Bobcats and Ladycats at Claude Mann Stadium on David Alpe Field.
The non- conference contests showcased high energy of aggression by Malvern, but the Bobcats and Ladycats sparked for productive execution in victory during 80 minutes of soccer action.
Lady Leopards 2, Hope Ladycats 6
The Lady Leopards fell to the Ladycats 6- 2 in senior high girls competition. Viktoria Jergenson and Marisol Cervantes sparked the Lady Leopards’ offense with key shots to score a goal against the Ladycats. Goalie Yelena Hogan also protected the goalie box productive with multiple saves in both first and second halves for Malvern.
Malvern soccer head coach Seth Roberts felt the Lady Leopards provided a valuable effort against Hope. Although the Lady Leopards didn’t finish victorious, Roberts believes they are improving and progressing.
“I thought we showed a lot of growth last night. The girls played overall their best game since Lake Hamilton— just had some bad breaks and missed calls go against them,” Roberts said.
He stated, Jergenson is on a fourgame scoring streak. “I thought we improved drastically from the Arkadelphia game and really saw some things we can build on. Sometimes the score on the scoreboard doesn’t tell the real story of the game,” coach added.
Leopards 0, Hope Bobcats 6
The Leopards had a tough matchup in senior high boys competition. Malvern brought extremeness and intensity to their competitors, but the Bobcats’ strong execution prevailed for the 6- 0 victory against the hometown Leopards.
The Bobcats displayed a dominant performance by their development of chemistry. Roberts knew Hope would test the Leopards to a challenge and he believes the battle can prepare Malvern for upcoming intense competition during league play.
Following the game Roberts said, “Boys played a team that gets to play together year round. I thought we battled hard and had some calls not going our way that got us down in the game.”
He added, “Same story though, I loved our energy and really thought we looked better at times. I feel like if we continue to sure up little mistakes and build off of our good runs then we will be in the thick of it once we get deep into conference.”
The Leopards and Lady Leopards will have his week off from action but return to the field for competition March 30 hosting Morrilton in conference play at Claude Mann Stadium after the spring break.