SPRINGDALE -- Taylor Wyatt was a little exasperated when Springdale High failed to capitalize on a few breakaways early in the first half against Van Buren on Thursday.
The frustration didn't last long.
How They Scored
Girls
Springdale 7, Van Buren 0
Van Buren^0^0^—^0
Springdale^1^6^—^7
First Half
Springdale — Wyatt, 18:26
Second Half
Springdale — Wyatt, 27:26
Springdale — Niño, 26:55
Springdale — F. Barroso, 19:34
Springdale — B. Barroso, 17:12
Springdale — B. Barroso, 14:14
Springdale — Fierro, 1:32
Boys
Springdale 4, Van Buren 2
Van Buren^0^2^—^2
Springdale^3^1^—^4
First Half
Springdale — Gonzalez, N/A
Springdale — Shirley, 11:41
Springdale — Shirley, 6:26
Second Half
Van Buren — Lopez, 9:24
Van Buren — Torres, 6:53
Springdale — Flores, 4:54
Wyatt scored Springdale's first two goals as the Lady Bulldogs exploded for six second-half goals en route to a lopsided 7-0 home win over the Lady Pointers.
Springdale (4-6) had its highest scoring game of the season, led by Wyatt, who doubled her season total to four goals after a Lady Bulldogs' slow start plagued by offsides penalties.
"I just felt like we needed to process that the defense was pushing up, so we wouldn't be offsides," Wyatt said.
Senior captain Blanca Barroso also scored twice as Springdale took control of the game by scoring five goals in a 14-minute span midway through the second half.
Wyatt's first goal came from about 25 yards and put Springdale up 1-0 at the 18:26 mark in the first half, a lead the Lady Bulldogs took into intermission thanks to offsides penalties and struggling to capitalize on scoring chances despite outshooting Van Buren 10-4 in the first half.
"We were having problems, obviously, with the offsides," Springdale coach David McKellips said. "We fixed that at halftime and it showed up in the second half. The girls are playing tough. They're playing fast. We're encouraged by our improvement every day."
Wyatt scored her second goal at the 27:26 mark in the second half, sparking the Springdale scoring flurry. Junior Rosa Niño extended the lead to 3-0 with a goal just 31 seconds after Wyatt's goal.
Fran Barroso scored from 20 yards out to make it 4-0, then Blanca Barroso added her two goals to stretch it to 6-0. Kimberly Fierro scored in the final two minutes to provide the final margin.
"We broke them down a little bit on their defense with the through balls and making good solid runs," McKellips said.
Meanwhile, Springdale's defense didn't allow Van Buren many opportunities. Goalkeeper Tegan Hendrex made a key diving save to preserve the shutout when the game was still 1-0 early in the second half, but the Lady Bulldogs otherwise mostly kept Van Buren from threatening.
"I believe we were just staying up, not letting the through balls go in," Blanca Barroso said. "We tried to push up as much as we could. We didn't let any forwards go up."
Springdale will open 7A/6A-West Conference play by hosting Rogers High on April 1.
BOYS: Springdale High 4, Van Buren 2
Senior Ian Shirley scored two first-half goals as Springdale built a 3-0 halftime lead then withstood a late Van Buren rally for a 4-2 home win.
Seniors Orsy Gonzalez and Andy Flores also scored for the Bulldogs (5-1-1).
Sports on 03/21/2014