7A-West soccer report

7A-West soccer report

Springdale High

Bulldogs Want Better Second Half

The start of Springdale High's second half of 7A-West Conference play didn't get finished, but there were signs of progress in a showdown with the defending state champion after a rough first half of league play.

The Bulldogs (7-5-1, 3-4) and conference leader Bentonville were deadlocked in a scoreless tie with 38 minutes remaining Friday when the match was postponed because of weather. A makeup date hadn't been set as of Friday night.

"I thought it was a pretty evenly played game," Springdale coach DJ Beeler said. "Both teams had a few good chances. I felt really good about how things were going."

Perhaps the biggest positive from Friday is Springdale playing its full roster after Beeler made the decision to sit a large chunk of the team's top players in a win over Fayetteville and some in a loss at Springdale Har-Ber.

"Everything's moving in the right direction, it appears," Beeler said.

-- Jimmy Carter • @NWAJimmy

Bentonville

Lady Tigers manage to survive

Bentonville's girls have found themselves in survival mode over the past week and have still managed to remain on top of the 7A-West standings.

The Lady Tigers (11-1, 8-0) earned wins over Fayetteville and Springdale High without the services of starters Melanie Matkins and Anslea Haikey. A third starter, Emma Welch, continued to play despite a soft cast on her arm.

"It's taken its toll, physically and emotionally, for sure," Bentonville coach Kristina Henry said. "What a trooper Emma is. I didn't even expect her to be able to play a full game at this point, but she did.

"It's had to change our strategy a lot. When you lose Melanie and Ansley, and even McKenzie Dixon has been a little gimpy, that's straight up the middle. Those are key positions, and we're trying to keep people fresh in those spaces."

Matkins, the Lady Tigers' second-leading scorer, is expected to be back next week as she suffered some hamstring issues after a collision with a goalkeeper during the recent tournament in Tulsa. Haikey had to be taken to the emergency room and is expected to miss at least two more weeks.

In the meantime, it's given other players the opportunity to rise to the occasion. Victoria Mitchell, Anna Passmore and Lauren Hargus each scored a goal in Thursday's victory over Springdale High.

"Victoria has had to have more of an impact," Henry said. "She's always been in the mix, and she had stepped things up. Anna has scored some goals, and Emma has had to play a bigger role even though she's already a starter."

-- Henry Apple • @NWAHenry

Springdale Har-Ber

Lady Wildcats in wait

Matches are beginning to pile up for the Lady Wildcats, who had their match with Fayetteville postponed by lightning.

The Har-Ber boys played a junior varsity and varsity boys game before rain and lighting moved across the area.

"We had a couple of delays and it would've been 8:30 or 9 before we even got started," Har-Ber coach John Marshall said.

Har-Ber will now host Fort Smith Southside on Monday and Rogers Heritage on Friday before completing the Fayetteville game on May 11. The Lady Wildcats and Lady Rebels will play on Monday because a junior high track meet will be held at Har-Ber on Tuesday.

"You kind of want to play games when they're scheduled and get them over with," Marshall said. "But at the same time, we've had some lingering and the extra days off will help with those situations a little bit."

A red card against Raul Umana paved the way for a 4-2 victory for Fayetteville over Har-Ber in Friday's boys game. The teams were tied 2-2 in the second half when Umana was carded and the Bulldogs were able to control the final 20 minutes.

Umana is a senior and the leading scorer for the Bulldogs. He assisted on a goal earlier to help the Wildcats to a 2-1 lead.

-- Rick Fires • @NWARick

Rogers High

Mounties are rolling

Rogers High defeated crosstown rival Rogers Heritage and Fort Smith Southside last week as the Mounties remain a game behind 7A-West Conference leader Bentonville. The Mounties (8-2, 6-2 7A-West) host Fayetteville Tuesday and Springdale Friday.

Rogers defeated Southside on penalty kicks when sophomore keeper Alberto Rios came up with a save on a Rebels kick late in PKs. Rios entered the game after starting keeper Ruben Balderas received a red card with 25 minutes left in the game.

"Shootout went to the seventh man with Rios blocking the final shot to give the Mounties the win," said Mounties coach Stephen Peck.

Southside took a 1-0 lead on Sydney Oliver's goal with 29:27 left in the first half. Rogers led 2-1 at halftime on goals by Horacio Olvera (24:25) and Jorge Zamarron (19:54) but Southside tied the game with just over four minutes left in regulation on a goal by Kawika Pope.

The Lady Mounties lost 1-0 to Southside as the Lady Rebels scored the game's only goal with 30 minutes left in the contest.

-- Paul Nielsen • @NWAPaul

Rogers Heritage

War Eagles suffer tough loss

Rogers Heritage pushed Fort Smith Northside before falling 2-1 Friday night in a match delayed for two hours because of lightning.

War Eagles sophomore Erol Banuelos scored in the first half and it was tied 1-1 with 24 minutes left in the second half when the game was delayed because of the weather. Northside, which beat Heritage (3-10-2, 1-7 7A-West) 4-0 earlier this season, scored about six minutes after the restart to take the lead. Heritage missed a penalty kick earlier and was turned away late thanks to a great save by the Northside keeper.

The girls match was rescheduled for May 9. Heritage plays a doubleheader at Bentonville on Tuesday.

-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB

Fayetteville

Strong week for Purple'Dogs

The Fayetteville boys went 1-1 in conference play last week, falling at conference leader Bentonville 2-1 on Tuesday before picking up a huge road win at Springdale Har-Ber on Friday, 4-2.

The Bulldogs (7-7, 3-5 7A-West) appear to be playing some of the their best soccer as the second half of conference play begins. Against Har-Ber on Friday, Fayetteville put together its finest offensive half of the season, scoring three goals in a 13-minute span to rally for the win.

"We played well," Fayetteville coach Steve Oliver said. "We're a team and we played as a team."

The win at Springdale Har-Ber moved the Bulldogs into sole possession of sixth place in the conference standings. Fayetteville visits Rogers High on Tuesday this week and hosts Fort Smith Northside on Friday.

The Fayetteville girls (10-3-1, 6-1) lost at Bentonville in a penalty kick shootout on Tuesday to drop behind the Lady Tigers to second place in the conference race, then were postponed against Har-Ber on Friday.

-- Vernon Tarver • @NWAVernon

Sports on 04/19/2015