Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Landaverde
championship before he was done. One year later, Landaverde’s words became true when Springdale hoisted the 2012 Class 7A championship trophy following a 3-0 victory over Little Rock Catholic.
“Every time I get together with Coach Beeler, we always talk about that,” Landaverde said.
The three semifinal losses gave Landaverde, a four-year starter from 2009-12 for Springdale, plenty of reasons to be frustrated. As a sophomore, he had the Bulldogs’ only goal on a penalty kick during their semifinal match against Russellville, but he missed one during a shootout before the Cyclones eventually won the match.
The frustrations mounted the following season as Landaverde — with only seconds remaining on the clock in the second overtime — opted not to shoot for the winning goal against Catholic because he was in heavy traffic. He instead passed the ball to an open teammate, whose shot was blocked with a great save before time expired, and the Rockets went on to win 4-1 in penalty kicks.
“I missed the penalty kick against Russellville, and I was crying like a baby,” Landaverde said. “Playing against Catholic my junior year, I thought we deserved to win. We were the better team in the field, but that’s how soccer is. You can play a really good game, but if you don’t score you don’t win.
“After the save, the ref didn’t let us take the corner kick. He blew the whistle as time went off, so I went on the floor frustrated and tired. I was thinking about penalty kicks are known as whoever is lucky wins. That’s when I went up to coach Beeler and told him I had one more year and that I was going to win state with him.”
Landaverde battled hamstring issues as a sophomore and as a junior, but he went into his senior season healthy. That was a key component for a Springdale team that went 19-1 that season and went on to defeat Catholic for the state championship.
He only scored six goals that season, but he also finished with 13 assists. What he did on the field was enough for Landaverde to become the first Springdale player to earn Gatorade Arkansas Boys Soccer Player of the Year honors.
“He was able to make those contributions that I have never seen or had a player do it since,” Beeler said. “He was just so talented. I knew a little about him before he showed up at tryouts as a freshman. I knew he could play, but I kinda had to see it for myself.
“The state semifinal match against Catholic had to be the most heartbreaking loss I’ve ever experienced as a coach. We played so well, and I thought we deserved to be ahead. I remember looking at Nelson late in that game and telling him to take over. In the second overtime, I watched him take the ball what seemed to be through half of Catholic’s team, with them doing everything they can to stop him.”