Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Siloam Springs downs Benton in tourney
SILOAM SPRINGS — Benton and Siloam Springs gave soccer fans a preview of things to come at next week’s Class 6A state tournament.
Senior Francisco Sifuentes scored a breakaway goal in the 72nd minute to break a 2-2 tie and Siloam Springs held on for a 3-2 victory in the semifinals of the 6A-West Conference Tournament in a battle of maroon Panthers at Panther Stadium on Thursday night.
The goal came a little more than 11 minutes after Benton’s Matt Warrick tied the match 2-2 with a goal in the 61st minute when Siloam Springs failed to clear a ball out of its end.
Siloam Springs ( 17- 5-1) didn’t let the late goal get it down though. The home Panthers went right back on the attack and nearly scored on a header from Eli Jackson that smashed off the crossbar and looked like it might have landed beyond the line. No goal was called though and the game remained tied 2-2.
Sifuentes had a good look at a shot that was saved by Benton’s goalkeeper just moments later.
With 8 minutes, 5 seconds left, Sifuentes caught up with a Christian Marroquin pass and finished for the go-ahead goal.
“That just tells you a lot about our kids and their character and work ethic,” said Siloam Springs coach Brent Crenshaw. “When you face adversity you’ve got to step up to the next challenge. It was 2-2 and we kept attacking. There were some other really good chances that we had and we were able to put one in, which is awesome, especially for a senior. Francisco Sifuentes, he just decided he was going to beat that guy no matter what it took.”
Jackson scored the match’s first goal in the fourth minute for a 1-0 lead for Siloam Springs, but Benton ( 15-21) tied the match up in the eighth minute on a free kick by Aaron Norris.
Marroquin put Siloam Springs ahead 2-1 on a rocket from 35 yards out in the 15th minute, a lead Siloam Springs held until the second half.
“Man it was a hard fought win for them,” said Benton coach Bobby Winn. “They did a great job winning. We came out and I was worried about the long drive maybe getting us worn down quite a bit. It took us a couple of minutes to settle in. I thought we really settled in. We stuck to our game plan and just tried to possess the ball through the midfield and when the open shots were there, take them and finish them off. And we did. Getting two goals, working inside the 18 isn’t how we planned on it, but man they’re a good team. They’re just really good.”
Siloam Springs, the No. 2 seed, will now play at No. 1 Russellville on Saturday. The Cyclones beat El Dorado 7-1 in another semifinal game. Benton will host El Dorado on Saturday in the third place game. Game times were not announced.
The Class 6A state tournament will be May 11-13 in Siloam Springs.
GIRLS
SILOAM SPRINGS 7, EL DORADO 1
Siloam Springs junior Megan Hutto scored her second straight hat trick, scoring three goals for the No. 1 seed Lady Panthers (20-3).
Freshman Shelby Johnson added two goals for Siloam Springs, while junior Audrey Maxwell added to her single-season record with her 36th goal. Brooklyn Buckminster also added a goal for Siloam Springs, which advances to Saturday’s championship match against Russelville, who beat Benton 5-4 in penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation.
El Dorado got on the scoreboard with 7: 01 left when Carson Henry scored for the Lady Wildcats (14-4), the No. 4 seed who will play Saturday in the third place match against Benton.