FAYETTEVILLE -- One 7A-West Conference boys match decided on penalty kicks had already gone against Fayetteville this season. The Bulldogs were determined not to let the same result happen again.
After letting a second-half lead quickly slip away, Fayetteville held off a Rogers Heritage charge and then settled in for extra time with the match even at 1-1. In the penalty kick period, goalkeeper Lucas Araujo came up with a stop on the War Eagles' third attempt. Fayetteville's penalty kick shooters did the rest, hitting on all five attempts as the Bulldogs outlasted Rogers Heritage 5-4 in the PK period on Tuesday at Harmon Stadium.
"We handled the pressure of the PK thing," Fayetteville boys soccer coach Steve Oliver said. "I don't think it's the right way to end the match, but we handled it well."
Regulation was a tale of two halves, literally. Fayetteville (6-5, 2-3 7A-West) controlled most of the first 40 minutes, while the War Eagles took over following intermission.
The Bulldogs' one brief momentum swing in the second half was a corner kick goal by Mason Martin, scoring on a header with 18 minutes, 56 seconds left. But just 29 seconds later, Rogers Heritage responded with the tying goal from George Cea.
"I'm proud of my guys. They continue to work very hard," War Eagles coach Christhian Saavedra said. "We're a young team and I'm a young coach, but these guys continue to impress me.
"We had our chances. (Fayetteville) played good defense, but when we have chances we have to put them away,"
Girls
Fayetteville 4, Rogers Heritage 0
The Lady Bulldogs controlled almost the entire match, particularly on the defensive end, and used two goals in each half to pick up a 7A-West Conference win on Tuesday against Heritage.
Gabbie Foster and Abby Sikes scored for the Lady Bulldogs (8-2-2, 5-0) in the first half, then Cassidy Sykes and Berklie Young added two more scores in the second.
"We've got to get off to a better start," Fayetteville coach Joe Thoma said. "The first 10 minutes we didn't start out well, but we picked it up.
"I think we kept them from a shot on goal all game and it was good to get four goals from four different players. It was really good to get one from Cassidy Sykes. Our offense got going as we kept playing it was nice to get one from Berklie there at the end."
Both teams are back in conference play on Friday. Rogers Heritage hosts Fort Smith Southside and Fayetteville visits Springdale High.
Vernon Tarver can be reached by email at vtarver@nwaonline or on Twitter @NWAVernon.
Sports on 04/08/2015