BENTONVILLE -- Gabby Miller's clutch save gave Bentonville the advantage it needed, and the Lady Tigers took sole possession of first place in the 7A-West Conference girls soccer race with a 5-3 decision in penalty kicks over Fayetteville at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
Miller read Jacopo Ballantonio's move perfectly, moving to her left and cradling the ball in her arms to preserve Bentonville's 3-2 lead, moments after McKenzie Dixon scored on her penalty kick attempt. Gia Diaz and Lauren Hargus then connected on their penalty kicks to seal the victory for the Lady Tigers (11-4, 7-0).
"I told the girls this is why I have to dye my hair every five weeks," Bentonville coach Kristina Henry said. "It was such a well-played match, and Fayetteville brought it. They had a good game plan and were organized.
"We were weary, but we did the job. That's why we practice PKs. I told Gabby to give me one good save, and we had a chance."
Bentonville, which played the match without starters Melanie Matkins and Anslea Haikey, took a 1-0 lead when Dixon scored from in front of the net with 30 minutes, 27 seconds left in the first half. Anna Passmore came in from the left side and delivered the pass to Dixon, who connected for her 26th goal this season.
Fayetteville (10-3-1, 6-1) had chances to score in both halves, but Miller was solid around the goal the most part until 8: 27 seconds remaining in regulation. The Lady Purple'Dogs put the ball in front of the goal off a corner kick, and Avery Tubb came out of the pack and scored from about five yards out.
"We talked about giving our best effort, and when you do that it's all you can do," Fayetteville coach Joe Thoma said. "That's athletics. Somebody is going to win and somebody is going to lose.
"We had a chance to score a couple in the first half and maybe a couple more in the second half. I felt like we left a goal out there that could have been the difference. That's what we have to work on: taking care of those chances."
Boys
Bentonville 2, Fayetteville 1
Zack Estrada and Josh Howard scored first-half goals to lead Bentonville past Fayetteville and helped the Tigers maintain their lead in the 7A-West standings.
Estrada was inside the box when he scored less than five minutes into the game, then Howard gave Bentonville (9-1, 6-1) a 2-0 lead when scored from almost the same spot with 10:35 left in the first half.
"I thought at times in the first half we played really well and we put some passes together," Bentonville coach Mike Devaney said. "We were able to get ourselves up 2-nil, then in the second half we basically just strolled through the game. I'm not particularly pleased with the way we approached the game in the second half."
Fayetteville (6-7, 2-5) picked up its goal early in the second half when Mason Martin fired a shot from 40 yards out that went just over the goalkeeper's outstretched hands and into the net.
Henry Apple can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAHenry.
Sports on 04/15/2015