SPRINGDALE -- Cesar Rizo jumped up from the turf with a smile wider than the soccer goal he superbly defended seconds before.
Rizo blocked two of Rogers Heritage's four penalty kicks, and his Springdale teammates were a perfect four of four on their kicks as the Bulldogs claimed a 1-1 (4-2 on PKs) victory in a Class 6A boys state soccer tournament semifinal Saturday in Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.
The win moves the Bulldogs (10-5-2) to the state championship game with a chance to defend their 2019 title. No championship games were played in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Springdale will take on Conway next week in Benton.
"This game went about how I expected it would," Springdale Coach DJ Beeler. "We tied twice in the regular season, 1-1 both times, and that was the score going into overtime today.
"We just got fortunate during the penalties. Nobody likes the penalties, but you have to end these games some way, and I guess that's the best way that we've figured out how to end them."
After an 80-minute regulation and two 10-minute overtimes, the match was tied 1-1. Both teams had multiple chances to score, but the keepers were outstanding throughout the match.
Miguel Reyes gave Heritage (7-3-4) a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute on an open-goal shot. Rizo came out of the box to try and make a save, but the ball squirted free and Reyes drilled it into the open net.
Springdale tied the match 1-1 on a sensational free kick by Jesus Oropeza with 22 minutes left in regulation. Oropeza placed the ball 30 yards from the goal, and his right-footed kick bent around the outstretched hands of Heritage keeper Enrique Almaraz and into the high left corner of the net.
"Jesus is kind of the heartbeat of our team," Beeler said. "It doesn't surprise me that at that moment, he stepped up and did that."
In the penalty-kick period, Erick Guerrero drilled the ball into the net on Springdale's first try. Heritage followed with Edwin Coronado, but Rizo dove to his left to block the kick. Springdale's Rene Recinos, Johnny Alcala and Mike Solis followed with successful kicks, and Heritage's Emmanuel Almaraz and Reyes followed with successful kicks. Martin Duran, the fourth Heritage kicker, tried to slip a low shot to Rizo's right, but he blocked the kick to send the Springdale sideline into celebration mode.
"He's been fantastic," Beeler said of Rizo. "He started the year as our No. 2. We had a big injury to our starting goalkeeper that knocked him out for the season, and [Rizo] just stepped right in and didn't miss a beat."
Conway 1, Springdale Har-Ber 0
Jacob Chalk knocked in a header off a corner kick in the 51st minute to lead the Wampus Cats to a semifinal win.
Chalk worked his way free inside a crowded box with 29:15 remaining in the match and went high to knock the ball into the right corner of the goal, then raced back up the field pumping his fist in celebration.
Conway Coach Matthew Page said the resiliency his team showed during a two-hour lightning delay and bouts of rain was huge.
"I felt like with the delay, we had to keep our guys on their feet as much as possible," Page said. "We got out here an extra 10 minutes earlier than [Har-Ber] did warming up before the game, then we got the delay. But I think just keeping our guys active really showed at the end."
Chalk scored his third goal in the past two matches to power Conway's attack. The senior led a relentless surge of pressure by Conway (17-1-4) throughout the match, which was scoreless at halftime.
"Chalk has been a really good player for us," Page said. "He's started since day one as a freshman. He's the only player I've ever had to go from day one to the very end starting every single game."
Har-Ber (10-4-2) launched a furious late-match attack, but the Wampus Cats were able to turn the Wildcats away.
Conway had a couple of scoring chances late in the first half, including a shot from about 15 yards out that sailed wide right. The ball was partially deflected, giving Conway another chance on a corner kick, but Har-Ber keeper David Barroso came through for the Wildcats by corralling the ball in a crowded box.