ROGERS -- Two new faces on the Rogers High girls soccer team gave the Lady Mounties a lot of scoring punch in the 7A-West Conference opener Tuesday.
Freshman Skylurr Patrick and sophomore Sienna Nealon scored two goals each as the Lady Mounties defeated Fort Smith Southside 6-2 at Whitey Smith Stadium.
Patrick and Nealon scored their goals in the first half as the Lady Mounties (3-0, 1-0 7A-West) built a 4-0 lead at halftime. Rogers led 6-0 at the midway point of the second half. Southside (1-6, 0-1) scored two goals in the final four minutes.
With teams playing a 14-game conference schedule this season, Rogers coach Taylor Vacarro said it was important the Lady Mounties started league play with a victory.
"This was huge, and it is always nice to get that first conference victory," Vacarro said. "The girls were a little nervous, but I think we got some of those jitters out. Usually, we have half the season to prepare for conference, but this year it is right out of the gate."
Nealon, a move-in from California, gave Rogers a 1-0 lead five minutes into the match, and Patrick upped the lead to 2-0 less than 10 minutes in as Rogers had nine shots on goal. Patrick scored her second goal from 25 yards out 25 minutes before halftime, and Nealon then beat two Southside defenders for a goal and a 4-0 lead with 2:21 left in the first half.
"Skylurr and Sienna are fun to watch," Vacarro said. "They work well together. We have been working with them to take quick shots and to take advantage of opportunities to get one off. I feel like I am blessed to get a move-in forward that can come in their first year and make an impact."
A key defensive play early in the game was a diving save by Rogers keeper Kiara Henry. Less than a minute after Rogers took a 1-0 lead, Henry stopped a hard shot by Southside's Rachel Smith from 20 yards out. Henry had five saves in the first half.
"Kiara is huge in goal," Vacarro said. "It's nice to be able to depend on her in goal. It takes a little pressure off of the defense to know she is back there."
Henry, who played forward in the second half, said she had a good angle on Smith's shot.
"I didn't know she was going to go to my right side, but after she hit it, I just stepped that way and got it," Henry said. "It is really big to start conference with a win because we know we have the confidence that we can play with anybody."
Boys
Rogers High 2, Fort Smith Southside 1
Jorge Zamarron and Alex Balderas scored first-half goals on direct kicks as the Mounties defeated the Rebels.
Zamarron gave Rogers a 1-0 lead at the midway point of the first half when his shot from 33 yards out just beat Southside keeper David Gurrero. Seven minutes later, Balderas scored from 20 yards out for a 2-0 Rogers lead.
Paul Nielsen can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaul
Sports on 03/18/2015