Bulldogs Take Bite Out Of Wolves

DECATUR — In the past four years, since the Arkansas Activities Association moved Decatur into the 3A West conference, whenever the Bulldogs and Lincoln Wolves meet on the soccer field a fierce battle ensues. The Thursday night battle would be no different.

The weather at Bulldog Stadium in Decatur was perfect at match time with temperatures in the lower 70’ s and partly cloudy skies. The last time these two teams met in Decatur, the Lincoln Wolves were jockeying for a higher seed in the state 3A state championship in North Little Rock during the May 8, 2021 contest. The Wolves needed to beat the Bulldogs by two to move up to a higher seed. In the end, Decatur tied Lincoln, maintaining its number two seed while the Wolves dropped to the fourth seed.

From the opening kick by the Wolves, the war was on as both teams went on the offensive, trying to score the first goal. At the halfway point of the first half, the Bulldogs kicked the intensity up and attacked the Lincoln defended goal with either the Wolves goalie making the save or the ball going over or around the goalpost.

Just as it looked as though the half would close with no score, Bulldog middle defender Robert Thang, with just one minute showing on the clock, made a run on the net and kicked the ball past the Wolves goalkeeper for the first goal of the contest, giving the Bulldogs the lead 1-0.

Both teams continued to attack each other’s goals for the final 40 minutes of the match. Decatur goalkeeper Ben Watkins and the Bulldog rear defensive line staved off attack after attack by the Wolves.

When time ran out, the Decatur Bulldogs claimed the conference win 1-0 over the Lincoln Wolves.

The Decatur Bulldogs will be off for the next week for Spring Break March 21- 25. Decatur returns to action March 29 when the Bulldogs travel to Eureka Springs to take on the Highlanders in a 7 p.m. contest.

MIKE ECKELS WESTSIDE EAGLE OBSERVER Steven Lucero (Bulldog 7) makes his run at the ball while a wall of Wolf defenders tries to block during the second half of the Decatur-Lincoln conference soccer match in Decatur Thursday night. Lucero’s penalty kick cleared the line but flew over the net and out of play for no point.