FAYETTEVILLE -- De Queen was knocked out in the semifinals of last year's boys soccer state tournament while competing for the first time in Class 5A.

The Leopards made up for that Friday as they won their first Class 5A boys state championship with a 4-1 victory over Hot Springs Lakeside.

The state title marked the fifth in the past six seasons for the Leopards, who won four consecutive state championships while competing in Class 4A. De Queen lost to Harrison in the semifinals last season.

"We struggled at the end of the year and we knew we would probably play Harrison in the semifinals going in," De Queen Coach Steven Sloan said. "We couldn't get over the hump, and that has been the driving force for us all year.

"The kids have worked hard toward getting this championship, winning it also for those seniors who missed out on it last year. They love to play the game and always work hard, but that's been the main driving force for us this year."

While the Leopards were the more aggressive team in the first half with 10 shots on goal, Hot Springs Lakeside snagged a 1-0 lead on a goal by Evan Munro off a corner kick with 17:25 left in the first half. It was Lakeside's first and only shot on goal in the half.

"Coming off that long bus trip may have been the reason, but we just did not look good in the first half," Sloan said. "I really think the credit goes to Lakeside. They played us off our feet in the first half.

"I lit into them a little bit there at halftime and told them that if we weren't going to play, let's just give them the championship and we can go home. They came out determined, and we just wore on their legs in the second half. It was a whole different game in the second half."

Barely a minute into the second half, De Queen pulled even at 1-1 when Estiven Garcia scored a goal on a header with the assist by Eric Flores.

Lakeside dodged another good shot by Garcia on a team save at the 33:13 mark, but Garcia found the back of the net again at the 31:42 mark from the left side to put De Queen ahead 2-1, and the Leopards never trailed again.

Garcia made it a hat trick with his third goal of the second half at the 28:00 mark for a 3-1 Leopards advantage. Garcia, a junior, earned MVP honors.

"He's been our go-to guy all year," Sloan said. "The three he scored today pushed his total 40 for this season, and he's over 100 for his career. He's an exceptional player. He's been a starter since he was a freshman and he's just a dream to coach."

Carlos Hernandez scored De Queen's last goal with 12:52 left to make it 4-1

It was the third meeting between the teams, who are both members of the 5A-Southwest Conference. De Queen also won the two regular-season meetings 5-1 and 4-0.

"We're proven through the year we can play with them ... for a half anyway," Lakeside Coach Craig Moses said. "It's just when they get those barrages of scoring it gets so hard to defend. They put so many kids in there, and when they sub they do not lose anything.

"We knew we had to come out and take it to them in the first half. We came out and set the tempo, which was what we had talked about doing all week, but once that barrage started it became a ripple effect. We got tired, and that was that."

Sports on 05/24/2014