Tigers Top Springdale In Shootout

 STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Bennett Moehring, Bentonville junior, heads the ball against Springdale on Friday at Bulldog Stadium in Springdale.

STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Bennett Moehring, Bentonville junior, heads the ball against Springdale on Friday at Bulldog Stadium in Springdale.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

SPRINGDALE -- Malik Monk wasn't involved, but a key officiating call was again as Bentonville earned a big second-chance soccer win over Springdale High at Bulldog Stadium on Friday night.

Bentonville goalkeeper Ben Barron came up with a save on Amilcar Gonzalez' attempt late in a penalty kicks shootout, then Bentonville junior Zach Estrada made his ensuing kick to lift the undefeated Tigers to an important 11-10 win in the shootout for a game tied 1-1 at the end of regulation.

How They Scored

Bentonville 1, Springdale 1

Bentonville 11-10 in PKs

Bentonville^0^1^—^1

Springdale^1^0^—^1

First Half

Springdale — Castro, 13:08

Second Half

Bentonville — Estrada, 39:04

The finish was reminiscent of Bentonville's 57-56 basketball win over Springdale in January, a game won when Monk nailed a 30-foot buzzer beater after officials added eight-tenths of a second back to a game clock that had expired.

Springdale appeared to win 7-6 on Friday after Bentonville's Elliott Martin missed a penalty kick wide and to the right. But a referee ruled Springdale goalkeeper Hugo Rodriguez had stepped forward across the goal line before Martin kicked the ball, awarding Martin a second opportunity, which he made to extend the game.

Bentonville may have gotten the benefit of a missed call, as a still photographic image from Springdale's video recording of the match showed Rodriguez with both feet on the line and the ball in mid-air. The referee made the call six or seven times during the shootout, Springdale coach D.J. Beeler said, but Bentonville scored on the other kicks, so no penalty was called.

"I can be factual with it," Beeler said. "I saw the replay and he started with his feet on the goal line. Then when the ball was kicked, his feet were still on the goal line. In fact, one of his feet was a little behind the goal line. Unfortunately, the ref didn't see it that way. ... As long as your feet are on the line, you're good. That's the way the rule is written. It says your feet need to be on the line until the ball is kicked. You can clearly see his feet are on the line and the ball had been kicked."

Martin was able to maintain his focus and easily make his second kick to re-tie the game after the stoppage in action while the referees deliberated on the call.

"All credit to our kids," Bentonville coach Mike Devaney said. "We've played a couple of penalty shootouts earlier in the year, so that was good preparation. And all credit to (Martin). You get a second opportunity, then you make the most of it. And hat's what you do. There's second chances in life and he got one and took advantage of it."

Bentonville (11-0-1, 4-0 7A/6A-West) assumed sole possession of first place in the conference race thanks to Springdale Har-Ber's win over Fayetteville. Springdale (9-4-2, 3-2) no longer controls its own destiny in the conference race after the loss.

Bentonville was able to win after trailing 1-0 at halftime. The Tigers evened the match on an Estrada header in the first minute of the second half, but failed to take advantage of several scoring opportunities late.

"It should never have got to (the shootout) anyway," Devaney said. "I think we had the three or four best chances in the second half. So we should have never let it get to penalties in the first place."

Sports on 04/26/2014