CONWAY - Everybody was an all-star, but nobody could score in regulation.
Kayla Leal of Harrison converted her shot, and Shara Robbins of Hot Springs Lakeside made three consecutive saves as the West beat the East 4-3 in penalty kicks Wednesday at the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star soccer game at Conway High School.
The game was scoreless after 80 minutes of regulation. The West took the first penalty kick, and Ellie Williams of Springdale Har-Ber converted her shot into the bottom right corner. The East took a 3-2 lead when Lexie Balisterri of Bryant missed the West’s kick wide right, and Elyse Albright of Maumelle buried her chance into the bottom right corner. Robbins then stopped the next three penalty kicks, including a diving save to the right that stopped a shot from Searcy’s Samantha Stewart and secured the victory.
Robbins was named the game’s most valuable player.
“[Penalty kicks] are hard. It doesn’t matter if you’re the keeper or the kicker, there’s pressure on both sides,” West Coach Julie Long of Bryant said. “Sometimes the keeper can make a few saves and get the momentum.”
Both teams struggled to control the ball and complete crisp passes in the first half. Gentry forward Ana Palacios got a shot on target for the West in the 10th minute that hit the crossbar. She added a free kick in the 15th minute that bounced straight toward the East goalkeeper. It was the West’s only other shot on goal that half.
The East improved its play and retained more possession in the last 20 minutes of the first half. The East, which had taken only two shots in the first 25 minutes, managed four shots in the final eight minutes of the half - but only one shot on goal.
Shelby Gartrell of Bryant hit a shot for the West in the 65th minute that clipped the top of the crossbar, and the East had a shot deflect off the left post in the 75th minute.
“I’m so proud of our girls,”East Coach Debbie Atkinson of Mountain Home said. “They played with everything they had.”
Alex Keene of Little Rock Christian was named the most outstanding player for the East, and Gartrell earned outstanding player honors for the West.
BOYS EAST 3, WEST 3 (EAST, 3-1 PKs)
A game primarily dictated by speed and quick goals was settled by penalty kicks.
Jared Thielke stopped three consecutive shots as the East beat the West 3-1 in penalty kicks Wednesday at the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star boys soccer game at Conway High School.
Regulation ended tied 3-3 with three goals coming in the final seven minutes. The East took the first penalty kick and Mason McNeill of Russellville scored into the bottom right corner. Dylan Sherrill of Central Arkansas Christian scored into the upper left corner for the West, but it would be the team’s only conversion. Thielke saved the next three shots, while the East secured the victory with goals from Bradley McBride of Valley View and Evan Scarbrough of Searcy.
Thielke was named the game’s most valuable player.
“Everybody knows penalty kicks are the hardest thing to stop in soccer,” East Coach Justin Cook of Jonesboro said. “That’s the kind of action you get at the end of a game. That’s when the play-makers show up.”
The East created several offensive runs early. Sergio Martinez of Fort Smith Northside drove into the left side of the box and slipped a shot into the right side of the net to give the East a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.
The West found its stride with long passes and speedy forwards. Colton Spears of Harrison beat defenders on a breakaway and scored from the top of the box in the 27th minute to tie it 1-1.
Scarbrough put the East ahead 2-1 in the 57th minute when he controlled a ball that had deflected off a defender and finished it into the middle of the net. Then came the frantic final minutes. Will Easley of Siloam Springs controlled a deflected ball and drilled it into the net to tie it 2-2 in the 73rd minute.
Ryan Mason of Little Rock Catholic countered with a header off a corner in the 77th minute that put the East ahead 3-2, but the West rebounded with a curling shot by Spears from well beyond the box in the 79th minute.
“It’s great to see a group of kids from all across the state come together and work hard,” West Coach Brock Dickinson of Texarkana said. “You couldn’t ask for a better soccer game to sit back and watch.”
Landon Boyles of Little Rock Christian was named the outstanding player for the East, while Easley earned outstanding player honors for the West.
Sports, Pages 24 on 06/20/2013