Proving Her Worth

Bentonville’s Estrada Continues Soccer Success

Tayler Estrada of Bentonville is the Girls Soccer Player of the Year after scoring 20 goals this season to lead the Lady Tigers to a second straight Class 7A state title.
Tayler Estrada of Bentonville is the Girls Soccer Player of the Year after scoring 20 goals this season to lead the Lady Tigers to a second straight Class 7A state title.

BENTONVILLE — Tayler Estrada believed she still had a lot to prove on the soccer field.

It didn’t matter that the Bentonville standout had already been named Arkansas’ girls player of the year two straight years by Gatorade, or she that had signed a national letter of intent with Kansas. There was still a senior season to play.

That desire and determination helped Estrada accomplish everything she had done before and more as she led the Lady Tigers to their second straight Class 7A state title. It also helped her become the All-NWA Media Girls Soccer Player of the Year for a third straight time.

“My parents kept pushing me,” Estrada said. “And there was all the talk — ‘she might be good, but she’s not as good as they’re making her out to be’ — stuff like that.

“And if anything, I thought signing with Kansas added a little bit more pressure on me to get even better. I felt I needed to keep going and get stronger. People would talk ‘oh, it’s KU’ and stuff like that. I don’t have to prove myself to anybody, but I wanted to prove to people that I am what Kansas saw me as.”

The 5-foot-7 midfielder scored 20 goals this season, giving her 62 goals for her four-year career. Estrada finished the season on a strong note with five goals in the Class 7A State Tournament, including a first-half hat trick during a 6-0 semifinal victory over Fort Smith Southside.

More importantly to her and Bentonville coach Kristina Henry was how well she could get her Lady Tigers’ teammates more involved in matches. Estrada recorded a career-high 24 assists in a variety of ways, whether it was from a corner kick or with a pass to a teammate.

“As far as maturity, this was Tayler’s best season,” Henry said. “I felt like she played with a lot more composure instead of feeling she had to take the game on by herself.

“She was able to find the open teammate much better, and she was getting everybody around her involved in the match. It made her an even more dynamic player because of how well she moved the ball and made decisions out there.”

While she focused on helping her teammates improve, Estrada still was dangerous when she had the ball within 30 yards of the net and an open lane. Henry recalled a goal Estrada scored during Bentonville’s season finale against Fayetteville — the last of three goals scored in less than a two-minute span.

Henry said it was a goal from the moment the ball left Estrada’s foot. Estrada considered it the highlight of her season and the spark the Lady Tigers needed to enter state tournament play.

“When we had those goals in that quick span, that made people think that we were ready to go,” Estrada said. “It was what got us through the state tournament.”

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