SILOAM SPRINGS — The Siloam Springs Lady Panthers’ run to the Class 6A state soccer finals might have been unexpected to some, but not to coach Jason Bowen.
Bowen, who’s in his 10th season at the helm of both Siloam Springs soccer teams, said the Lady Panthers may have had doubters after going 2-5 in the 7A/6A-West Conference, which is regarded as the toughest girls soccer conference in the state.
“For me, I didn’t have any doubt that we could get there with the preparation we had gone through in our league play,” said Bowen, who today is named the All-NWA Media Girls Soccer Co-Coach of the Year along with Shiloh Christian’s Tommy Roy.
Siloam Springs (14-9) opened league play with a 2-1 win in penalty kicks against Springdale High. The Lady Panthers then lost five straight conference games, dropping them in a variety of ways, too.
Siloam Springs suffered lopsided losses to Fayetteville (4-0), Bentonville (6-0) and Rogers (3-0). But the Lady Panthers played well in a 2-1 loss in penalty kicks to Springdale Har-Ber and 1-0 to Rogers Heritage.
The Lady Panthers snapped their skid with a 3-2 win in penalty kicks against Van Buren in the final regular season game.
Earning the third seed from the 6A-South, Siloam Springs beat Marion 9-0 in the opening round of the Class 6A State Tournament in Searcy. Siloam Springs then upset No. 2 seed Greenwood 2-0 in the quarterfinals and beat defending 6A state champion Russellville 1-0 in the semifinals to earn the program’s first-ever state finals appearance.
However, that’s where the Lady Panthers’ run ended, losing 3-1 to Searcy on May 17 at Razorback Field.
“We came on there and scored goals when we needed to and kept our defense playing great,” Bowen said. “We just had a few breakdowns in the championship game. I can’t say I’m completely surprised that we got there, because I felt like we had the talent all year long. Just playing in a tough league like we play in makes it difficult.”
With a strong incoming group of freshmen and a solid group returning, Bowen expects the Lady Panthers’ program to keep making strides.
“Especially with the younger kids we’ve got,” Bowen said. “We’re going to have another strong senior class again next year with this group of juniors.