BENTONVILLE -- Falon Hanson's first shot on goal Thursday might have not been an ideal one, but it still proved to be effective.
The junior midfielder pushed the ball far enough out of the goalkeeper's reach and still hit the right side of the net, leading the way for Fayetteville's 3-0 victory over Fort Smith Southside during first-round action of the Class 7A Girls State Soccer Tournament.
FS Southside^0^0^—^0
Fayetteville^3^0^—^3
First Half
Fay — Hanson, 31:05
Fay — Hanson, 20:54
Fay — Sykes, 11:55
Hanson was already inside the box when she received a pass from the left side, but her shot didn't explode off her foot. Instead, the ball slowly made its way to the goal before it nestled inside the net with 31 minutes, 5 seconds left in the first half.
"Sometimes those shots seem like they are in slow motion," Fayetteville coach Joe Thoma said. "But that's what we've been practicing the last two or three weeks. We've been focusing on hitting the seams and finishing.
"I thought our goals were really pretty, which is fun. I'll take any goal, but the ones we scored in this match were fun to see."
Fayetteville (12-3), the third seed from the 7A-West Conference, was in total control from that point and did all of its scoring in the first half. Hanson had a little more power on her second kick and scored midway through the first half, then sophomore defender Katie Sykes added a goal with 11:55 before halftime.
The Lady Purple'Dogs never made a serious scoring threat in the second half, but that wasn't necessary. Fayetteville's defense took care of the rest and made things easy for goalkeeper Gracie Cape throughout the match.
"We've really been working on defense as far as our midfield and our fullbacks being compact," Thoma said. "If we keep doing that, we have a chance to win a game."
Southside, the sixth seed from the 7A-Central, appeared to have a goal when Jordan Rainwater broke through and fired a shot into the net in the second half. It was nullified when the Lady Rebels were called for offsides just before the kick was made.
"They beat us in the midfield," Southside coach Jeremy Davis said. "Fayetteville was playing aggressive, and every time they got the ball they had it marked up. They played well.
Fayetteville moves on to a 4 p.m. quarterfinal match today against Little Rock Central, which is seeded second in the 7A-Central and earned a first-round bye.
Sports on 05/16/2014