Long shot Cardinals make final

There may not have been more of a long shot to win a state championship this spring than Farmington, which only started a varsity soccer program three years ago and had one season mostly wiped out by Covid-19.

But Farmington will indeed have a chance to win it all when the Cardinals meet Clarksville in the Class 4A boys state championship game at 10 a.m. in Benton. A crowd of well-wishers and a police escort to lead the team’s bus out of town is expected to appear when the Cardinals depart Farmington High School at 1 p.m. on Friday. The Cardinals will spend Friday night in Bryant before arriving in Benton for an early game Saturday morning.

Farmington and Clarksville have quickly developed a rivalry as 4A-West Conference members. Farmington fought Clarksville to a 1-1 draw before losing 3-0 to the Panthers on their home field in the championship game of the league tournament.

“The game was 1-0 until they scored two goals in the final 18 minutes,” Farmington coach Josh Fonville said. “Clarksville is extremely fast. Their kids use their speed to get ahead and get a goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation.”

Farmington started state tournament play with a 2-0 victory over Wynne then followed with a 3-2 win over Pulaski Academy in a quarterfinal game. The Cardinals then punched their first-ever ticket to a championship soccer match by beating DeQueen 1-0 in a semifinal game.

Farmington is led by Mateo Carbonel, who has 10 goals in the season, including the only score of the game against De Queen. Carbonel also contributed three assists in the 3-2 win over Pulaski Academy.

Farmington is strong defensively with senior Steven Gomez guarding the net for the Cardinals.

“We’ve had a full defensive effort in the back and Steven has been solid all year,” Fonville said. “He’s not made any mistakes. PA has scored a lot of points, sometimes 7, 9, or 5, and to hold them to two goals was outstanding.”