ROGERS -- Rogers Heritage wasted several first-half scoring chances, but the Lady War Eagles made the most of them in the second half Thursday.
Sophomore Emily Seiler scored with just less than 12 minutes left in the match to help Heritage claim a 2-1 win over Van Buren at Gates Stadium.
How They Scored
Girls
Rogers Heritage 2, Van Buren 1
Van Buren^0^1^—^1
Heritage^0^2^—^2
Second Half
Van-Lozano, 3148.
Hert-Jones, 25:48.
Hert-Seiler, 11:42.
Boys
Rogers Heritage 7, Van Buren 0
Van Buren^0^0^–^0
Heritage^2^5^–^7
First Half
Hert-B. Banuelos, 39:15.
Hert-B. Banuelos, 27:38.
Second Half
Hert-B. Banuelos, 34:04.
Hert-Bravo, 26:49.
Hert-B. Banuelos, 23:48.
Hert- E. Banuelos, 20:12.
Hert-Alpizar, 5:46.
The Lady War Eagles (6-8-1, 3-2 7A/6A-West) trailed 1-0 after the Lady Pointers scored nine minutes into the second half off a Heritage turnover. But Heritage played most of the final 30 minutes on the Van Buren end.
Heritage tied it on a blast by Raya Jones from about 15 yards out off a ricochet with 25 minutes, 48 seconds left in the second half. Seiler then beat two defenders and gave the Lady War Eagles the lead with 11:42 left.
Lady War Eagles coach Craig Frank said his team missed several first-half chance but didn't lose confidence.
"We're not going to let them get their heads down," Frank said. "They were a little frustrated after that goal went in, but what did we out-shoot them? You know one of them, two of them had to go in with so many opportunities. We finally capitalized."
Van Buren coach Nathan Almond said his Lady Pointers (1-5 7A/6A-West) wore down in the second half.
"We got a little tired," Almond said. "We're not very deep. We struggling defending there late. The put together some good soccer. We had difficulty maintaining possession."
Although it's not official, the victory also gives Heritage a likely state tournament spot, Frank said.
"Getting to three conference wins usually punches your ticket," Frank said.
Boys
Rogers Heritage 7, Van Buren 0
Senior all-state forward Brian Banuelos scored four goals and added an assist to help the War Eagles to their first conference victory.
Banuelos scored with less than a minute gone in the match, and Heritage (6-7-2, 1-4 7A/6A-West) never looked back.
He added a second goal midway through the first half then chipped in with two more in the second half as the War Eagles poured it on. His younger brother, Erol, also added a second-half goal. Van Buren drooped to 0-6 in conference play.
Heritage doesn't play again for a week as the War Eagles and Lady War Eagles host Siloam Springs on Thursday.
Sports on 04/25/2014