Friday, March 14, 2014
The NWA Showcase isn't about the number of soccer teams that will play in this year's event: It's about the quality of those teams that will participate.
There will be no slouches in this weekend's event, which will hold the majority of the boys matches at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium in Springdale, while the girls will play at the Tiger Athletic Complex in Bentonville.
NWA Showcase
Boys
Today
Game 1: Bryant at Bentonville, 3:30 p.m.*
Game 2: Springdale Har-Ber vs. Springdale High, 6:30 p.m.
Game 3: Bryant vs. Edmond (Okla.) Memorial, 8 p.m.
Saturday
Game 4: Springdale High vs. Russellville, 9 a.m.
Game 5: Bentonville vs. Edmond (Okla.) Memorial, 10:30 a.m.
Game 6: Springdale Har-Ber vs. Russellville, noon
Game 7: Fifth-place match, 1:30 p.m.
Game 8: Third-place match, 3 p.m.
Game 9: Championship, 4:30 p.m.
GIRLS
(All games at Tiger Athletic Complex)
Today
Game 1: Bentonville vs. Bryant, 5 p.m.
Game 2: Mount St. Mary vs. Springdale Har-Ber, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 3: Mount St. Mary vs. Bryant, 9 a.m.
Game 4: Bentonville vs. Springdale Har-Ber, 10:30 a.m.
Game 5: Springdale Har-Ber vs. Bryant, 1:30 p.m.
Game 6: Bentonville vs. Mount St. Mary, 3 p.m.
"I'm really excited about this field," Springdale High boys coach Donald Beeler said. "There are going to be some strong matches, for sure. It's going to make for a pretty good tournament, and I think it will be very competitive."
The boys side will feature pool play, with one pool featuring Springdale -- last year's Class 7A state runnerup -- as well as Springdale Har-Ber and Russellville. The other pool has a pair of state semifinalists in Bentonville and Bryant along with Edmond (Okla.) Memorial.
Each team will play the other two schools in their respective pools with the winners of each pool facing each other in a 4:30 p.m. championship match Saturday. The only match not to be played in Springdale will be the Bentonville-Bryant match, which will be played at 3:30 p.m. today in Bentonville.
"It's going to be very nice because teams won't have to be going back and forth," Beeler said. "It's going to be very easy for any college coaches that want to recruit because they will mainly have one location where they can settle in. I think it's a great way to do it."
The girls field has dwindled down to four schools, causing the tournament to go into a round-robin format. Bentonville coach Kristina Henry said the date made it difficult to find teams -- especially in Oklahoma, where schools will begin spring break Saturday.
The format, however, sets up a rematch of last year's Class 7A State Championship contest between Bentonville and Mount St. Mary. Bryant and Springdale Har-Ber complete the four-team field.
"This is a pretty stiff group," Henry said. "Bryant lost to Mount St. Mary in the semifinal last year, and Har-Ber is pretty strong this year. They have already picked up two good wins."
The Lady Tigers (1-1) opened the season with two starters sick last week and dropped a 5-1 loss at Broken Arrow, Okla. Bentonville then bounced back Wednesday with a 4-2 win at Harrison.
"We learned a lot from that one," Henry said of the loss. "I told the girls there's a reason why we played matches like that. We get to figure out where our weaknesses are and where we need to improve."
Sports on 03/14/2014