Fort Smith Northside defeated Little Rock Catholic 3-2 on penalty kicks Friday night in Little Rock when Juan Araujo’s decisive goal deflected off the Catholic goalkeeper, spun back toward the goal, and the referee ruled that the ball just barely crossed the goal line.
“The last minutes will go back and forth when you play a good team like Catholic,” Northside Coach Mauricio Maciel said.
Northside (15-1, 9-0 7A/6A Central) led early when Moses Diaz slipped past three defenders and scored in the fourth minute. Christian Guerra gave Northside a 2-0 lead when he chipped the ball over the Catholic goalkeeper in the 18th minute.
Catholic (12-5, 7-2) was given a penalty kick in the 37th minute when the referee ruled that a Catholic forward was fouled in the box on a corner kick. Austin Cloyd drilled the ball into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 2-1.
Chris Holmes made it 2-2 in the 55th minute with a header across the goal. The Rockets missed their first three penalty kicks but converted two consecutive opportunities before Araujo’s kick barely crossed the line.
“When it goes to penalty kicks it’s always up in the air,” Catholic Coach Ryan Lawrence said. “We started slow, but we did well to get back into the game. We just couldn’t score that game-winner.”
Both teams had goals disallowed in the second half. Northside put a shot on goal in the 43rd minute that deflected off the Catholic goalkeeper. The Grizzlies got the the rebound and scored but was ruled off sides.
The Rockets argued for a penalty kick in the 59th minute when a Catholic forward went shoulder-to-shoulder with a Northside defender and was knocked down in the box.
Catholic out shot Northside 14-6. The Grizzlies finished with six saves while the Rockets had two.
Sports, Pages 27 on 04/20/2013