Hurley scores twice as Bentonville beats Heritage

BENTONVILLE 3, ROGERS HERITAGE 1

ROGERS — Kayla Hurley and Amanda Schell provided the offense Tuesday to keep Bentonville undefeated.

Hurley had two goals while Schell contributed a goal and an assist to lead Bentonville to a 3-1 victory Rogers Heritage in 6A-West Conference action at Gates Stadium.

Hurley gave Bentonville a 2-1 lead less than three minutes into the second half after scoring late in the first half to tie the match. Schell provided Bentonville’s third goal on a penalty kick after Allison Fermstrom was fouled by a Heritage defender.

“(Kayla) had a great game and we move her around in different spots,” Bentonville coach Steven Porter said. “She’s fast and she’s really technical with the ball. She’s also really smart with her decision-making.”

Bentonville (7-0, 3-0) went almost an entire half before the Lady Tigers were able to get anything past Heritage goalie Emma Cornog. That happened with 2:45 left when Hurley scored on an assist from Schell to tie the game 1-1. Schell set up with play with a kick from near the left sideline to midfield, where Hurley drilled the ball past the goalie.

“That was a great assist, but she’s been doing that for us all season,” Porter said of Schell, a top playmaker who leads Bentonville with nine goals on the season. “That’s a big part of her game, to find spaces and make plays with her instincts.”

Rogers Heritage (0-5, 0-3) held the lead for most of the first half on a goal by sophomore Ailani Perez with 34:37 left before halftime. Bentonville controlled the ball but the Lady Tigers were turned away several times defensively by the Heritage backfield and Cornog, a sophomore goalie who went to one knee to stop a penalty kick with 16:45 left in the first half.

Bentonville was also the aggressor on offense in the second half. Cornog continued to turn the Lady Tigers away except the two goals by Hurley and the penalty kick by Schell. On the flip side, Rogers Heritage rarely threatened except for the goal in the first half by Perez.

“We’ve played seven games and have only conceded four goals,” Porter said. “For us, it starts on the defensive side but I think we’re pretty balanced.”

Bentonville will continue 6A-West Conference play at home Friday against Fayetteville.

(Special to the Democrat-Gazette/David Beach) Bentonville’s Kayla Hurley (middle) tries to kick the ball past Emma Cornog (left) of Rogers Heritage during the Lady Tigers’ 3-1 victory over the Lady War Eagles on Tuesday at David Gates Stadium in Rogers. Hurley scored two of Bentonville’s three goals.