Siloam Springs' Bowen Builds Elite Soccer Program

STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Jason Bowen, Siloam Springs soccer coach, is the All-NWA Media’s Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.
STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Jason Bowen, Siloam Springs soccer coach, is the All-NWA Media’s Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.

Jason Bowen remembers the afternoon of April 18 vividly.

The Siloam Springs Lady Panthers had just lost to Springdale Har-Ber 2-0 on their home field at Glenn W. Black Stadium -- a game in which he felt like his team had outplayed the Lady Wildcats but gave up two late goals for the loss.

The loss to Har-Ber was the Lady Panthers' fourth straight. Just one week earlier, on April 11, Siloam Springs had pulled out a historic win against Bentonville, snapping the Lady Tigers' 43-game conference winning streak dating back to 2007.

"After the (Har-Ber) game, I told the girls, 'You guys are going to win the state championship. You guys are going to be the best at the end of the year,'" Bowen said. "After that game, even though it was a loss in conference play, I told them 'You've got what it takes, and we're going to win a state championship.'"

Bowen's words to his team proved to be prophetic.

The Lady Panthers (14-10) went on to win six of their last seven matches, including a 2-2 (3-0 PKs) win against Mountain Home in the Class 6A State Finals at Razorback Field on May 23 for the program's first state championship.

The state title is the third overall for Bowen's coaching tenure at Siloam Springs, having led the boys program to state titles in 2011 and 2012. In recognition of the Lady Panthers' season, he is NWA Media's Girls Soccer Coach of the Year for 2014. Bowen also received the honor after the Lady Panthers advanced to the state finals in 2013.

"I've been so fortunate to have great players, and without the great players, you don't get awards like this," Bowen said. "I've got great coaches as well that surround me and do everything the right way. We've had some monumental victories. Winning a state championship for the first time and then beating Bentonville was huge for us. It gave our kids confidence. They knew that they could win some games and have a chance to win a state championship because of that."

The Siloam Springs girls soccer program has now reached the elite status the boys program has enjoyed the last several years.

Bentonville girls coach Kris Henry has watched the Siloam Springs program from a distance and said the similarities between the Lady Panthers' rise and the Lady Tigers' own journey to elite status in the mid-2000s are striking.

"It's been a steady progress," Henry said. "They've really come a long way. Every year they get a little bit better. They peaked at the right time.

"I feel like (Bowen's) program are outliers like we were. I think he's going to continue to get better and better."

Henry said when Bentonville lost to Siloam Springs 1-1 (7-6 PKs) on April 11, her players noticed how much the victory meant to the Lady Panthers.

"The girls felt it," she said. "They understood that was huge."

Harrison head soccer coach Chris Pratt is a longtime rival and friend of Bowen and also had a perspective on the Lady Panthers' program.

"(Bowen) has developed the girls team into one of the finest in the state," Pratt said. "He teaches them to play the game the way it is supposed to be played. Some coaches are able to produce good teams. He has done better and has built a program that will continue to be at a high level."

Sports on 06/08/2014

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