ROGERS -- Springdale Har-Ber keeper Madeline Slaton made save after save Wednesday night, but the Lady Wildcats senior saved her best for last.
Slaton came up with a key save on the first Rogers High penalty kick as the Lady Wildcats defeated the Lady Mounties 4-2 in PKs at Whitey Smith Stadium.
Rogers was in control most of the game, but Har-Ber (11-3, 7-2 7A-West) forced PKs when Har-Ber senior Courtney Stokes tied the game at 1-1 with 6 minutes, 26 seconds left in the game.
Rogers (8-8, 5-6 7A-West) sent its best scorer in Skylurr Patrick to kick first but Slaton came up with a save. Har-Ber then made its first four kicks to earn the season sweep of the Lady Mounties.
"Madeline is a great player," said Har-Ber coach John Marshall. "She has the height, the skill and she has come up big for us time after time. Madeline has just been great for our team. I knew we were going to get a couple of scoring chances late in the game, and Courtney did a great job of getting her foot on the ball and finishing."
Rogers missed several good scoring opportunities in the first and second half but took a 1-0 lead four minutes into the second half on a goal by Patrick. But the Lady Mounties missed too many opportunities to win in regulation.
The Lady Mounties appeared to take a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the contest when Baylee D'Amico beat Slaton with a hard shot to the right side of the Lady Wildcats goal. But Rogers was called for offsides on the play.
"We didn't finish," said Rogers coach Taylor Vacarro. "I was hoping we would be able to capitalize on a chance or two, especially in the first half. From my angle, it didn't look like Baylee was offside, so it had to be someone else."
Har-Ber's best scoring chance in the first half came when Elise Reina was just high with a shot 15 minutes before halftime. Rogers keeper Abigail Beasley also had two key saves late in the first half as the two teams were tied 0-0 at halftime.
Rogers travels to Bentonville Friday. Har-Ber is at Fort Smith Northside Thursday and they host the Lady Grizzlies Friday.
Boys
Rogers High 5, Springdale Har-Ber 3
Rogers (9-4, 7-4) scored three goals in a span of less than five minutes in the first half to defeat the Wildcats (6-6, 5-5).
Alex Balderas gave Rogers a 1-0 lead 17 minutes before halftime and Jorge Zamarron then scored two goals just three minutes apart as the Mounties took a 3-0 lead. Zamarron had an assist on the goal by Balderas.
Rolando Sidon scored a goal for the Wildcats just before halftime.
Har-Ber twice cut the lead to one in the second half on goals by Gerardo Ramirez and Raul Umana. But Zamarron completed the hat trick with another goal and Bayron Anderson added a score as the Mounties held on.
"This felt good after two close losses," said Mounties coach Stephen Peck. "We played well together."
Sports on 04/30/2015