FAYETTEVILLE — Last season was a breakthrough of sorts for the Fayetteville boys’ soccer team.
Nine overall wins, a spot in the Class 7A state tournament and a victory over Cabot in the tournament’s first round were all highlights. Particularly for a Bulldogs squad led by a roster full of seniors who had never been to the postseason before in their careers.
That was last year.
Fayetteville now looks to build off the foundation set last spring, and coach Steve Oliver is hopeful the Bulldogs have the right parts in place to continue on the same path to success.
Schedule
Fayetteville Bulldogs
Date Opponent Time
Feb. 26 at Green Forest 5 p.m.
March 1-2 NWA Showcase TBA
March 5 Fort Smith Southside 5:30 p.m.
March 9 Harrison Tournament TBA
March 12 at Bentonville 7 p.m.
March 25 Harrison 6:30 p.m.
March 27 at Rogers Heritage* 6:30 p.m.
April 5 Van Buren* 7 p.m.
April 9 Siloam Springs* 7 p.m.
April 12 at Rogers High* 7 p.m.
April 19 at Springdale Har-Ber* 7 p.m.
April 26 Springdale High* 7 p.m.
May 3 Bentonville* 7 p.m.
May 9-11 7A State Tournament TBA
*7A/6A-West Conference match
“I think we’ll be competitive,” Oliver said. “We lost a big group of seniors from last year, not only a big group but a talented group. So I think we’ll have to put somewhere between three to five ninth-graders out there with the varsity.
“We do have some good young talent coming up, but experience is a key there. In some of the games, it could be a rude awakening, and it’s a case of will they learn from those games and work to get better.”
While the Bulldogs, who finished 9-8 overall last season and 3-4 in conference, must replace 12 seniors, which include all-state defenseman Tyler Ho and team captain Will Montgomery, several key members of the state tournament team remain. Forwards Ryan Starr and Coleson Young give Fayetteville experience in the middle, and sophomore Aaron Henry is back at goalkeeper after a solid freshman season.
“Ryan and Coleson have unbelievable pace, and they can cause some problems,” Oliver said. “But we have to be able to get the ball with our defense.
“At goalkeeper, I thought Aaron did a fantastic job last season. He didn’t cost us any games really and did an overall solid job.”
Despite some veterans in certain spots, Fayetteville is a much younger team overall than last season. Oliver doesn’t believe that will necessarily lead to a drop in production — or wins — this year.
“I’m nervously excited,” he said. “But we won’t really know for sure until we get out there and play somebody.”