ROGERS -- At halftime, Bentonville High held a slim 1-0 lead over Rogers High, but the home crowd at Whitey Smith Stadium was still engaged as a few near misses kept the Lady Mountaineers off the scoreboard.
By the end of the second half, it was the visiting Lady Tigers (16-2-1, 11-1 7A-West) who were all smiles after a 5-0 road victory in a key conference girls soccer match.
7A-West Conference Soccer
Boys
^Conf.^Overall
Springdale High^11-1^16-1-1
Springdale Har-Ber^8-4^11-8
Fayetteville^6-6^8-12
Bentonville West^5-6^8-10-1
Rogers High^5-7^10-9-1
Rogers Heritage^4-8^8-8
Bentonville High^4-8^6-10
Van Buren^3-8^8-11-2
Thursday’s Match
Bentonville West 1, Rogers Heritage 0 (4-3 PKs)
Friday’s Matches
Rogers 4, Bentonville 1
Fayetteville 2, Springdale Har-Ber 1 (5-4 PKs)
Springdale 3, Van Buren 2
Girls
^Conf.^Overall
Bentonville High^11-1^16-2-1
Rogers High^8-3^13-5-1
Springdale Har-Ber^8-4^11-9
Fayetteville^7-5^13-8
Springdale High^6-6^8-10-1
Rogers Heritage^4-7^7-11
Bentonville West^2-9^4-13
Van Buren^0-11^0-16
Thursday’s Match
Bentonville West 4, Rogers Heritage 2
Friday’s Matches
Bentonville 5, Rogers 0
Springdale Har-Ber 1, Fayetteville 0
Springdale at Van Buren (n
"This was our third game this week," said Bentonville coach Kris Henry. "We wanted to go out (and score) fast, but it's hard to do. Rogers had a really tough game plan, and it was tough to break through."
Senior midfielder Anna Passmore opened up the scoring in the second half with a goal at the 33 minute, 33 second mark. While this gave the Lady Tigers a nice cushion on their lead, it was the fourth goal of the contest that seemed to put it out of reach, Henry said.
"Anything can happen in these games because we're putting everything on the line," Henry said. "We're both fighting for that No. 1 seed, and we knew it was going to be a tough battle."
On that fourth goal, junior forward Tyler Ann Reash chipped it in from the right side of the goal at the 18:48 mark. She and the other starters showed signs of fatigue during the first half, but they found the gaps in the second that gave them scoring opportunities.
"I had a couple girls who ran in the conference track meet yesterday, it was the third game of the week, and girls were tired," Henry said. "I told them 'grit and determination will get it done.'"
In the first half, Rogers (13-5-1, 8-3) had several chances to score but couldn't break through.
Once the second half started, Bentonville seemed rejuvenated, and the ball movement opened up scoring lanes.
"We found the gaps, we found the space and we found each other more," Henry said. "I think we stuck to our game plan better and did what we needed to do to win."
The win moved Bentonville a full two games up in the league standings, while Rogers has a one-game lead in the race for the No. 2 seed.
Springdale Har-Ber 1, Fayetteville 0
The Lady Wildcats made a first-half goal stand up in a key 7A-West Conference win Friday in Wildcat Stadium.
Gisselle Estrada found the back of the net in the first half on an assist by Annabelle Weber, and that was all Har-Ber (11-9, 8-4 7A-West) keeper MeKenna Taylor needed as she posted a shutout in goal.
BOYS
Rogers High 4, Bentonville High 1
Despite what appeared to be an evenly-matched game at the beginning, a number of quick scores by Rogers turnd the tide.
Of Rogers' four first-half goals, the last was perhaps the most exciting as junior midfielder Bryan Flores got past Bentonville's defense by heading the ball forward after it was launched to him across the field. He caught up with it on the right sideline and kicked the ball across his body, neatly pocketing it through the left corner of the net past the goalie's outstretched arms at the 3:24 mark.
Fayetteville 2, Springdale Har-Ber 1 (5-4 PKs)
The Bulldogs earned a huge league win Friday by outscoring Springdale Har-Ber 4-2 on penalty kicks.
Gabriel Ramirez scored the lone goal for Har-Ber in regulation.
Sports on 04/28/2018