ROGERS -- Fayetteville goalkeeper Lucas Araujo saved two Rogers High penalty kicks to help lift the Bulldogs to a big 4-3 (3-1) road win in a penalty kick shootout on Tuesday night.
Araujo saved Rogers' first two penalty kicks in the shootout while Fayetteville's Kieran Lobb and Jacopo Bellantonio made theirs to give the Bulldogs separation. After another Rogers miss, the Mounties' third in four penalty kicks, Pedro Delgado clinched the victory for Fayetteville.
"Our keeper came up big," Fayetteville assistant Rick Ternes said. "Not just in PKs, a couple times (in regulation), saving a bunch. He just kept us in the game."
Fayetteville (8-7, 4-5 7A-West) earned a second consecutive impressive conference win a week after beating Springdale Har-Ber. The Bulldogs were able to rally for the victory Tuesday after trailing 3-2 late. Mitchell Dutton scored with just 3:14 left to tie the match and that was good enough to send it into the shootout, which eventually led to a second straight big win after a 2-5 start in league play.
"I think the mentality's changed," Ternes said. "We started to believe in ourselves. And when we have that confidence, we feel like we can play with the best of them."
Cobi Rivera's impressive, line-drive goal from 30 yards out gave Rogers the late 3-2 lead and came just minutes after Bayron Anderson's tying goal after the Mounties trailed 2-1. But Rogers (8-3, 6-3) was unable to hang on for the win despite playing well without four key players, including its starting goalkeeper.
"To me, it was one of our better played games," Rogers coach Steve Peck said. "I had some people that stepped up and really took some missing players' spots and filled it in perfectly. I told the guys, the scoreboard doesn't reflect the way we played the game."
Bellantonio and Mason Martin scored first-half goals for Fayetteville, while Victor Pantoja scored for Rogers.
Fayetteville will host Fort Smith Northside on Thursday. Rogers will host Springdale High on Friday.
Girls: Fayetteville 2, Rogers High 0
Berklie Young scored less than four minutes into the game, Avery Tubb scored late and the Fayetteville defense did the rest as the Lady Bulldogs earned a 2-0 road win.
Young scored with 36:37 left in the opening half to give the Lady Bulldogs (11-3-1, 7-1) control as they gained momentum early.
"It's so funny, because for the first half of the season we started (games) so poorly," Fayetteville coach Joe Thoma said. "It's something we talked about and worked on. To get a goal, we did it last week against Springdale (too). And especially for Berklie. She's worked really hard. She scored a great goal and everybody was like, 'Wow.' So that kind of super charged you."
Meanwhile, the Lady Bulldogs' defense kept Rogers High (4-5 conference) from mounting many serious threats throughout the match. Fayetteville goalkeeper Gracie Cape made three saves in the early stages of the second half to preserve the shutout.
Sports on 04/22/2015