GIRLS SOCCER

Patrick gets kicks in sparking West

The West’s Skylurr Patrick (left) scored twice to help the team beat the East 6-4 on Friday in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Girls’ All-Star soccer game at the University of Central Arkansas’ Estes Stadium in Conway.
The West’s Skylurr Patrick (left) scored twice to help the team beat the East 6-4 on Friday in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Girls’ All-Star soccer game at the University of Central Arkansas’ Estes Stadium in Conway.

CONWAY -- Skylurr Patrick didn't have to be as dominant in Friday's Arkansas High School Coaches Association Girls' All-Star soccer game as she was this past season for Rogers, but the Purdue signee did more than enough to help her team pick up a victory.

Patrick scored two second-half goals and assisted on another to power the West All-Stars past the East All-Stars 6-4 at the University of Central Arkansas' Estes Stadium.

"This was such a great experience," said Patrick, who was selected as the game's Most Valuable Player. "To play with all these great players, where you'd make passes and they'd be right there to get them. And then they'd give you great passes right back.

"It was just a really fun time out there, and to finish it off with a win makes it even better."

Patrick, who scored 45 goals and had 14 assists as a senior to help the Lady Mounties win the Class 7A state title, got plenty of help Friday as well. Brooklyn Buckminster of Siloam Springs scored three goals to pick Most Outstanding Player honors for the West while her high school teammate, Megan Hutto, had one.

Kelly Carson of Fort Smith Southside had three goals for the East All-Stars, who were forced to play catch-up the entire game after falling into a 2-0 hole after 10 minutes of play. Emily Leding of Pulaski Academy added the other goal for the East.

The West came out aggressive from the start and outshot their counterparts 25-16 for the game, including 14-7 in the opening half.

Patrick nearly gave her team the lead with 32:51 showing, but her blast sailed just right of the net. Buckminster's goal at the 31:31 mark did give the West a 1-0 cushion, and Hutto followed suit 1:30 later with a score off a deflection from 10 yards out.

Carson's breakaway goal with 20:41 remaining in the first half sliced the East's deficit in half, but Buckminster answered with a header to give the West a 3-1 advantage. Carson would add another score from 15 yards away just before the half, but Patrick began to assert herself early after the break.

The 5-6 midfielder, who was also named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year earlier this month, attacked the East every chance she got and eventually found the net with a nifty goal with 32:50 left. Leding's goal a little more than six minutes later trimmed the West's lead to 4-3, but the East would get no closer. Patrick responded with a 15-yarder at the 25:04 mark, then hit Buckminster in stride for another score with just under 23 minutes left to give the West a commanding 6-3 lead.

"Since state, I've been working out and running, but a game is a game," she said. "You have touches, you have shots, so it feels good to come out and play the way I did because it lets me know that I'm ready [for Purdue]. To be named MVP, though, makes me feel like I'm really, really ready."

Sports on 06/23/2018

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