Soccer: Freshman Vega lifts Springdale past Har-Ber

Logan Slater (9) of Springdale Har-Ber and Briana Valenzuela (4) of Springdale High vie for the ball Tuesday during their game at Har-Ber.
Logan Slater (9) of Springdale Har-Ber and Briana Valenzuela (4) of Springdale High vie for the ball Tuesday during their game at Har-Ber.

SPRINGDALE -- A freshman decided Tuesday's rivalry game between Springdale High and Springdale Har-Ber.

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NWA Democrat-Gazette

Springdale Har-Ber’s Juan Perez (20) tries to get the ball past Springdale High defenders Tuesday at Har-Ber.

Jose Vega scored a goal with nine minutes, 16 seconds left to break a tie and give Springdale a 2-1 victory over Har-Ber at Wildcat Stadium.

Vega was alert and put a loose ball high into the left corner of the net after an initial block by the Har-Ber goalie.

"Jose had an opportunity when the ball fell to him," Springdale coach DJ Beeler said. "He used his (off) foot and did a great job with the kick. He's been doing that all year for us."

The game was tied 1-1 at halftime with Leo Araujo scoring for Springdale and Esteban Fuentes for Har-Ber. Har-Ber had a chance to tie again with 6:49 to play, but Springdale goalie Ricardo Pozos rushed out and made the save before he crashed into a Har-Ber player and went to the ground.

Springdale (14-3, 8-1) responded with a win in an evenly-played game after losing 3-0 to Rogers Heritage last week. Springdale will continue conference play at Fayetteville Thursday while Har-Ber (6-8, 4-5) hosts Bentonville on Friday at Wildcat Stadium.

"This win was very important because you want to show a championship resolve," Beeler said. "If you want to stay at the top of the conference, you've got to bounce back from difficulties during the season and that's what we were able to do tonight."

Bentonville 2, Fort Smith Northside 1

Josh Hylton and Bruno Mariscotti provided the scoring as Bentonville slipped past Northside at the Tiger Athletic Complex.

Hylton had the only first-half goal, scoring with 12 minutes, 4 seconds remaining to give the Tigers (10-2-1, 7-2) a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The score remained that way until Mariscotti scored on a penalty kick with 12:57 left to play.

Northside picked up its goal with 4:20 remaining to avoid the shutout. The final 4 minutes were played with the referee keeping the time on his watch instead of the scoreboard clock.

Rogers High 3, Rogers Heritage 2

The Mounties snapped a 1-1 tie on a penalty kick by Alex Valdez with 23 minutes left en route to the win Tuesday at Gates Stadium.

Willie Hernandez added a header off a corner kick by Horacio Olivera with four minutes left to push the lead to 3-1 for Rogers (9-5, 4-5 7A-West Conference). Heritage (8-7, 6-3) added a penalty kick with a minute left to set the final score.

Girls

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 2, SPRINGDALE 1

Har-Ber scored two goals seconds apart in the opening minutes to defeat Springdale.

Vanessa Reynolds put Har-Ber ahead with a goal from 35 yards away with 33 seconds, 51 minutes left in the first half. Elise Reina then scored on a short kick right of the net 17 seconds later to give Har-Ber a cushion.

Springdale finally got some offense going in the second half and scored on a goal by De'Sire Perez with 24:37 left to play.

It was the second consecutive win for Har-Ber (4-7, 4-5), which defeated Rogers 2-0 last week. Har-Ber controlled the ball so completely in the first half that Springdale did not get a shot on goal.

The Lady Bulldogs (2-11, 0-9) had two attempts on goal early in the second half before Perez scored with 24:37 left to play.

Bentonville 0, Fort Smith Northside 0 (Bentonville 4-3 PKs)

Alyssa Carlson drilled the final penalty kick as Bentonville remained unbeaten in 7A-West Conference play.

Northside did not have a shot on goal during regulation play as the Lady Bears opted for defense against the Lady Tigers (12-4, 9-0). Northside kept nine players close to the goal and caused Bentonville to settle for longer shots.

Gabby Miller blocked Northside's first two penalty-kick attempts, while Anslea Haikey, Melanie Matkins and Merrill Leak hit Bentonville's other penalty kicks.

Rogers Heritage 4, Rogers High 0

Bailee Russell scored two goals, while Emily Seiler added a goal and an assist as the Lady War Eagles blanks their crosstown rivals Tuesday at Gates Stadium.

The Lady War Eagles (10-4, 6-3 7A-West) led 1-0 at halftime on a goal by Russell aided by a Seiler cross. Grace Brackett added a goal, while Russell scored again to put the lead to 3-0. Seiler added the final goal off a corner kick.

Fayetteville 3, Fort Smith Southside 0

The Lady Bulldogs got goals from Hannah Davis, Cassidy Sykes and Payton Woodward and posted another shutout - their seventh in conference play - to pick up the easy road win Tuesday against the Lady Rebs.

Macy Watson and Davis also contributed with assists for Fayetteville (10-3-1, 8-1).

Sports on 04/20/2016

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