Rogers, Rogers Heritage play to draw

ROGERS 1, ROGERS HERITAGE 1

ROGERS — Rogers appeared headed for a defeat against its rival until Armando Soto changed that outcome.

Soto scored a goal with 21:29 left in the second half to pull the Mounties into a 1-1 tie with Rogers Heritage Tuesday in 6A-West Conference action at Gates Stadium. Heritage held the lead for most of the game on a goal by Brandon Gallardo in the first half.

The match concluded 6A-West Conference play for Heritage and Rogers, which will move on to the Class 6A state soccer tournament next week at Fort Smith Northside.

Rogers was still scoreless until junior Emerson Flores gained control of the ball and passed in front of the goal to Soto, who blasted a shot past the Heritage goalie.

“I saw Emerson Flores come in with the cross, a really good cross, that kind of curved in,” Soto said. “When I saw it curve in, I knew I could make it to the last post. As soon as I got there, I had the chance [to score] and I put it in.”

Rogers is no stranger to ties, especially in a season with an abundance of ties in the 6A-West. Rogers gained a point in the standings while moving to 4-4-3 in the league and 9-5-4 overall. Heritage also gained a point to move to 2-5-1 in the league and 7-5-1 overall.

“I thought both teams played really well, really hard,” Rogers coach Leo Hernandez said. “This was a crucial game for them, but it was a crucial game for us, too. We’ll be ready to go at the [state] tournament, whoever we play.”

The season is over for Heritage, which had an outside chance depending on the results of some other games Tuesday to still make the playoffs. That did not happen for the War Eagles, who still have the satisfaction of playing its state-bound rivals to a draw.

“When you look at the crowd for this game, you can draw a conclusion on how important it is for the city of Rogers,” Heritage coach Christhian Saavedra said. “I was really proud of my boys for the way they fought to the end.”

Gallardo scored a goal on a free kick with 18:45 left to give Heritage a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes. Gallardo, a senior playing his final home game for the War Eagles, booted the hard shot from about 25 yards away past the Rogers goalie and into the net.

Rogers had three shots on goal in the early minutes of the match, but all three were turned away by Heritage goal keeper Nicholas Moreno.