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Rogers Tournament Spring 2002.
Rogers will be hosting a classic tournament the first weekend in March. It will consist of 4 boys and 4 girls teams. The tournament will be played on a full size nice field. Each team will play 3 games, 1 friday 2 saturday, each game will consist of 2 35 minute halves, no ot no shootout. Kelme will provide coaches with free gifts! If you are interested let me know asap. Trophies will be presented to the first and second place teams. Also I am trying to get our schedule done before summer. Have decent teams and we are willing to travel! Contact me if your interested in the Rogers Spring Classic presented by Kelme or if you would like to play a regular season game.
Bobby Peterson
bpeterson@rogersark.org
TEAMS FOR STATE TOURNAMENT SET
REGION CHAMPIONS HAVE BEEN DECIDED. Several schools sweep regions with both boys and girls championships: Ft. Smith Southside, Little Rock Central, and North Little Rock.
Region 1: Fayetteville Girls (as predicted) and Springdale Boys (as predicted).
Region 2: Girls - Conway (I thought Russellville would win, but knew it would be close) (Conway defeated Russellville in a shootout after the game ended tied 0-0) Boys - Russellville (as predicted) (Russellville defeated Conway 1-0; they scored in the last seven minutes of regulations play).
Region 3: Girls - Little Rock Central (as predicted) (Central defeated Mount Saint Mary 2-1. I heard it was a great gameby everyone) Boys - Central (surprised me).
Region 4: Boys - Searcy (surprised me). Girls - Jonesboro (as predicted)
Region 5: Girls - Ft. Smith Southside (as predicted). Boys - Ft. Smith Southside (as predicted - sort of).
Region 6: Girls - CAC (surprised me). Boys - PA (as predicted).
Region 7: Boys - Lakeside (as predicted). Girls - Arkadelphia (surprised me).
Region 8: Boys - North Little Rock (as predicted). Girls - North Little Rock (as predicted).
This means the state tournament stacks up like this. Remember, these are my predictions. A few teams have proved me wrong so far, so if I didn't pick your team to win I challenge you to prove me wrong. Nothing would please me more than for the underdog to win.
Boys:
Top Bracket
Pulaski Academy v. H.S. Lakeside = Pulaski Academy
Russellville v. Searcy = Russellville
Pulaski Academy v. Russellville.
By wiggling its way into the number one spot, despite two loses and a couple of squeakers, Pulaski Academy will not be truly tested until it plays Russellville. It had no real competition in its regional tournament. That could mean trouble for Pulaski Academy. I suspect they think they will coast into the finals. Russellville will be pumped. It could get interesting.
Bottom Bracket
Springdale v. Fort Smith = Springdale.
North Little Rock v. Central = North Little Rock
Springdale v. North Little Rock
The bottom half of the bracket is where the real competition is. In fact, I think the possible semi-final between Springdale and North Little Rock is the real final. If they don't get too beat up in the semi-final match, the state champion could easily be the winner of this half of the bracket.
GIRLS:
Top Bracket:
Fayetteville v. Arkadelphia = Fayetteville
Central Arkansas Christian v. North Little Rock = ???
Fayetteville v. ??? = Fayetteville
Just like PA above, Fayetteville has assured itself a cake walk to the finals by convincing the State Soccer Committee that it should get the number 1 seed despite 2 losses to Central during the regular season. If seeding like this keeps up, we should just seed next years state tournament as soon as this one is over and not even worry about what happens during the season next spring. Why bother waiting? Just give this year's champions the top seeds next year regardless of how they perform next season.
Bottom Bracket
Fort Smith Southside v. Conway = Southside
LR Central v. Jonesboro = LR Central
Southside v. Central = Girls game of the Tournament. Southside clobbered Central during the regular season (Central's only loss), but I pick Central to win this time.
Like the boys, this is going to the a real game and certainly the semi-final match to watch. If they don't beat each other up to bad, Central will advance from this semi-final to beat Fayetteville a third time this year.
Previous Material:
My Seedings State Committee
Girls Girls
Region 3 Region 1
Region 1 Region 5
Region 5 Region 3
Region 6 Region 6
Region 8 Region 8
Region 4 Region 4
Region 2 Region 2
Region 7 Region 7
Boys Boys
Region 1 Region 6
Region 8 Region 1
Region 6 Region 8
Region 5 Region 2
Region 2 Region 4
Region 4 Region 3
Region 3 Region 5
Region 7 Region 7
If you have any comments, schedules or scores, please send them to me at ctbohannon@wlj.com
See you on the fields,
Tad Bohannon
Regional Updates 4/25
What an exciting week. The stands are full (well, mostly) in many places, and the games are great. Many finals and semi-finals will be played tonight.
Region I came out as expected, Fayetteville Girls and Springdale Boys, but I don't think the Fayetteville Girls expected the scare they got from Harrison. Enough whining about the field. That is the only excuse we have heard all week. Everybody played on the same field and its better than a lot of fields around the world. How about admitting that some kids who didn't get much credit previously played some great games with a lot of heart?
In Region 2 the Girls final is set. Conway will meet Russellville Thursday night. The Boys semi-finals are tonight: Clarksville v Russellville and Conway v. Subiaco.
In Region 3, the girls final is set and will be played Thursday in Benton. As expected it will be Little Rock Central v. Mount Saint Mary. The boys semi-finals are tonight in Benton and the final will be Thursday. In one semi-final we have Central v. Bryant and in the other semi-final we have Catholic v. Benton.
Region 4, the boys semi-finals are tonight: Crowley's Ridge v. Searcy and Jonesboro v. Paragould. Last night the Searcy Girls defeated Batesville Girls 9-0 so Searcy will play Jonesboro in the final Thursday night.
Region 5 has its finals tonight. The girls favorite Ft. Smith Southside will play Greenwood, and as predicted Ft. Smith will win the boys final when Southside and Northside meet tonight.
Region 6 has its finals tonight too. PA girls will play CAC (this may be the game of the night) and PA boys will play an inspired Walnut Valley.
Region 7 has its finals tonight when the number 1 and number 2 boys seeds, Lakeside and Texarkana, face each other and the Arkadelphia girls play the Lakeside girls. This girls final is the only real surprise of the tournament as it is a 3 seed versus a 4 seed.
Region 8 has it semi's tonight and its finals Thursday night. The boys are NLR v. Cabot and Sylvan Hills v. Mountain Home. The girls are North Pulaski v. NLR and Mountain Home v. Cabot.
Totally different subject. Rogers High School is already looking to schedule games for next year. If you are interested, contact Coach Bobby Peterson at:
bpeterson@rogersark.org
That's it for now. Check the web site for scores.
Tad
Two Top Thirty Goals
Two different players, from two different areas of the state, playing on two very different teams, each had more than 30 goals this season.
Robyn Sutherland of Rogers finished the regular season with 32 goals. I only had the pleasure to watch her once, but from reports I have received, she spend much of the year confounding defenders with speed and a very quick shot. I find her accomplishment of 32 goals particularly incredible given the level of competition she was playing against.
K. Sbabo of Arkansas Baptist finished the regular season with 34 goals. Opposing teams could not stay with her and she was often taken out of the game after she scored a couple to keep the spread respectible.
Both young ladies have achieved outstanding accomplishments this season.
the
Comments about Regional and State Tournaments
BOYS:
1st Seed: Region 6 - Pulaski Academy should win this one easily.
2nd Seed: Region 1 - This is probably the most interesting Regional tournament. Springdale or Rogers should emerge from this one, but you never know what miracle Fayetteville may pull out of the hat.
3rd Seed: Region 8 - North Little Rock should win this one almost as easily as Pulaski Academy should win Region 6, but Mountain Home and Cabot may gear up to give them some competition.
4th Seed: Region 2 - Russellville or Conway; I pick Russellville.
5th Seed: Region 4 - Jonesboro will win this one. Searcy may try to give them a run, but if Jonesboro holds itself together it should run away with this one.
6th Seed: Region 3 - Little Rock Catholic or Little Rock Central; it should be Catholic but if something strange happens Central will have a chance.
7th Seed: Region 5 - Fort Smith will win this one. Fort Smith Southside or Fort Smith Northside.
8th Seed: Region 7 - Hot Springs Lakeside or Texarkana. I pick Lakeside.
GIRLS:
1st Seed: Region 1 - Fayetteville, Rogers or Springdale. The final should be between Fayetteville and Rogers. History says Fayetteville gets the win but how they get the number 1 seed after losing twice to Little Rock Central, go figure?
2nd Seed: Region 5 - Fort Smith Southside, no questions asked.
3rd Seed: Region 3 - Little Rock Central v. Mount Saint Mary. I give the nod to Central. They should be fired up since no one in the state seems to take them seriously.
4th Seed: Region 6 - Pulaski Academy.
5th Seed: Region 8 - North Little Rock. Cabot may give them a run for their money, but North Little Rock should win.
6th Seed: Region 4 - Jonesboro or Searcy, but it should be Jonesboro.
7th Seed: Region 2 - Conway or Russellville. I'll pick Russellville.
8th Seed: Region 7 - El Dorado or Hot Springs, but El Dorado should win.
If the teams come out of the regions without any surprises, the state tournament stacks up:
Boys:
Top Bracket
Pulaski Academy v. H.S. Lakeside = Pulaski Academy
Russellville v. Jonesboro = a very interesting game
Pulaski Academy v. Russellville or Jonesboro.
By wiggling its way into the number one spot, despite two loses and a couple of squeakers, Pulaski Academy will not be truly tested until it plays Russellville or Jonesboro. It has no real competition in its regional tournament. That could mean trouble for Pulaski Academy. I suspect they think they will coast into the finals. Jonesboro or Russellville will be pumped. It could get interesting.
Bottom Bracket
Springdale or Rogers v. Fort Smith = Springdale or Rogers
North Little Rock v. Catholic = North Little Rock
Springdale or Rogers v. North Little Rock
The bottom half of the bracket is where the real competition is. If they don't get too beat up in the semi-final match, the state champion could easily be the winner of this half of the bracket.
GIRLS:
Top Bracket:
Fayetteville v. El Dorado = Fayetteville
Pulaski Academy v. North Little Rock = ???
Fayetteville v. ??? = Fayetteville
Just like PA above, Fayetteville has assured itself a cake walk to the finals if it gets out of its regional tournament.
Bottom Bracket
Fort Smith Southside v. Conway or Russellville = Southside
LR Central v. Jonesboro = LR Central
Southside v. Central = Girls game of the Tournament; Big question, will Carry Klien be back from her injury?
We all know that you play the game because something strange can always happen, but the girls side should be a three way horse race between Fayetteville, Central and Southside.
Monday 4/16 Rankings
As we get close to the regional tournaments, everybody seems to be getting their game faces on and playing for keeps. Last week, I was able to catch the second half of the PA v. Catholic boys game, the Jonesboro v. Catholic boys game, the Rogers v. Conway girls game, and the Rogers v. Conway boys game.
As you have probably seen on the score reports, PA defeated Catholic 1-0 on the canoe (that's what I call the PA field because it is so narrow), but it was a good game. PA had several chances to score a couple more but Catholic had several opportunities to tie it up too. It is frustrating to watch good teams try to play balls wide or down the line just to see them run out of bounds because of field size. I am excited to hear that many school are building real soccer fields for their kids to play on that are 70 yards wide. I think we should ask the basketball coaches to move the touch lines in 10 feet or the football coaches to move the touch lines in 7 yards, and see how they react.
The Catholic v. Jonesboro game was fairly uneventful except that Catholic won. They haven't done that in a while.
Rogers defeated Conway 2-0, but I'd say barely. I don't keep stats, but I would suspect that Conway out shot Rogers 3 to 1 in the first half, Conway just could not find the net. In the second half, Rogers stepped up the pace but Conway was still able to attack at times. Rogers first goal was off a corner and the second goal was off a direct kick 22 yards out. Everybody, watch out for number 19, he has a cannon. I haven't seen a set piece hit that hard or that accurately all year.
Last week, I ranked them Springdale, North Little Rock, Rogers, Pulaski Academy, Russellville. I don't think anything has changed there.
I have heard that a number of people in Rogers are a little upset with me because I ranked Springdale above Rogers even though Rogers defeated Springdale early in the season 2-1. All I can say, I guess, is prove me wrong Tuesday night.
Oh, by the way, so much for giving Fort Smith Northside a "dark horse" ranking. They lost to Fayetteville last week 3-0.
On the girls side, I don't think anything changed either. I am going to leave it at: Little Rock Central, Fayetteville, Fort Smith Southside, Rogers, Mount Saint Marys.
Again, Rogers is a little upset because they defeated Southside the last time they played, but I am going to give Southside the nod for at least one more week.
Everyone have a great week and get out and watch a soccer game or two. It should be fun.
As you get your regional tournaments set up, send me the schedules and I will get them posted as I have done for Region 7.
See you on the fields,
Tad
Monday 4/9 Rankings
What a Thursday, Friday and Saturday! You couldn't ask for better competition and school spirits are flying high.
As predicted the game between the Central and Fayetteville girls was a battle. The game remained scoreless until the final two minutes when Central was able to find the net to win the game 1-0.
In other games, PA defeated Conway 2-1 and MSM defeated Russellville 3-2. On Saturday, Fayetteville defeated PA. There were other games around the state and you can check out those scores on the web site.
With the latest results, I need to shift a few things around in the girls standings. Before I announce my new rankings, however, let me say that I think the top teams are very close and winning any matches between them will depend on a lot of factors, including a little luck. I think there is a lot a parity between the teams this year. With that said:
1. Little Rock Central
2. Fayetteville
3. Fort Smith Southside
4. Rogers
5. Mount Saint Marys
Other teams to watch (in no particular order): El Dorado, Pulaski Academy, Central Arkansas Christian, and Jonesboro.
On the boys side, Friday night Central beat Fayetteville 3-2, Pulaski Academy beat Conway 2-1, Russellville defeated Catholic 3-0, and Rogers defeated Ft. Smith Northside 1-0.
Like the girls, the boys teams are tough to separate at the top. While Pulaski Academy defeated NLR unconvincingly earlier in the week, Pulaski Academy lost to Fayetteville on Saturday. So, here are my new rankings:
1. Springdale
2. North Little Rock
3. Rogers
4. Pulaski Academy
5. Russellville
Teams to watch (in no particular order): Hot Springs Lakeside, Texarkana, Jonesboro, Hot Springs, and Fayetteville. Dark Horse - Fort Smith Northside has lost three games to top five teams by score of 1-0.
This week should another great week of soccer with fun games in all parts of the state. Of particular interest, Fayetteville plays Rogers on Tuesday, Jonesboro plays Catholic/MSM on Wednesday (Jonesboro needs these wins), and PA has two tough games - Catholic/MSM on Tuesday and Central on Thursday.
Stay tuned and I'll try to keep you posted.
Week in Review 4/6
WOW!!!! What a week!
The biggest news of the girls side is that CAC defeated MSM 1-0 at Burns Park on Tuesday night. In other important games, Rogers defeated Southside 5-4, North Little Rock defeated Pulaski Academy 3-2, and Harrison defeated Mountain Home 2-1.
In other matches, Springdale defeated Russellville, Jonesboro defeated Cabot, Central defeated Conway, Hot Springs defeated Arkadelphia, El Dorado defeated Benton, and North Little Rock defeated Cabot.
Tonight, however, is the night. Friday night football has nothing on Friday night soccer. Digressing, did anyone see that great editorial in the paper that schools should require the cheerleaders, band, etc to attend soccer games like they do the football games. I like that idea.
Back to subject at hand. Tonight, Fayetteville and Central will clash at Quigley Stadium. Can anyone say battle? This promises to be a great match and probably the highlight match of the evening. They should have reversed the order of the games at Quigley; played the boys first and the girls second. I hope the referee assignor has assigned a good crew because I suspect it will be a very physical game. There is no love lost between these two teams.
There are also a couple of other good girls games going on Friday night. Pulaski Academy is playing Conway in Conway. Conway will be trying to bounce back after their lost to Central and PA is looking for revenge after their 3-2 to North Little Rock earlier in the week. In their first meeting, PA won 2-1, but PA plays Fayetteville on Saturday and has to avoid looking forward to that game or Conway will beat them tonight.
Mount Saint Mary's is looking to recover when they Russellville in Russellville tonight.
Searcy plays Jonesboro.
Arkansas Baptist plays Sylvan Hills.
Rogers plays Fort Smith Northside.
Harrison plays Bentonville.
Springdale plays Siloam Springs.
But, again, the big match of the day is Fayetteville v. Central. Tomorrow Fayetteville plays Pulaski Academy.
Next week, the really big game is up North when Rogers and Fayetteville play on the 10th.
For the boys, this was also an interesting week.
Catholic defeated CAC 3-0. Jonesboro defeated Cabot 5-0. Conway defeated Central 5-3. Hotsprings defeated Arkadelphia 5-1. Lakeside globbered Westside Christian 10-0. Pulaski Academy globbered Arkansas Baptist 8-1. Mountain Home defeated Harrison 5-2. Benton defeated Eldorado 3-1. North Little Rock beat Cabot 3-0.
The big games for the boys were North Little Rock vs. Pulaski Academy, Rogers vs. Southside, and Russellville vs. Springdale.
Springdale proved that it deserved to be ranked above Russellville when it defeated them 2-0. Rogers defeated Southside 2-1 in a game that was, by all reports that I have received, lackluster. Pulaski Academy defeated North Little Rock when North Little Rock scored on itself with an errant defensive header. Win goes in PA's column but not a decisive victory to reclaim the No. 1 spot. I am going to have to think about that one over the weekend.
Tonight, Russellville plays Catholic. The game should have a lot of spirit and be a tough one. Again, I hope the ref assignor has good crew on this one. It is a tough one to pick but I think Russellville, if they come ready to play, can win this one. (I know, I just made all of the Catholic players and parents mad, but I had to pick someone.) This is Russellville's chance to prove that they deserve to be considered in the rankings. If not, the win against Rogers was just fluke.
Pulaski Academy plays Conway. It is test time for Conway. If they want to show that they can make it very far in the state tournament. They need to do well in this one.
In other games:
Sylvan Hills plays Arkansas Baptist,
Oak Grove plays Mills
Searcy plays Jonesboro
Rogers plays Fort Smith Northside
and Springdale plays Siloam Springs.
Everyone should be watching a soccer game somewhere tonight. And, if you are not associated with any school, or if your school is not playing, I would get to Quigley to watch the Fayetteville v. Central girls game.
That is it for now. New rankings out Monday. Could be interesting? Depends on what happens this weekend.
Tad
Monday 4/2 Rankings
What is a person to do?
I haven't ranked the boys or the girls in the last few weeks because of spring breaks, etc., but in the meantime we have had a couple of upsets and Jonesboro faltered in the Conway tournament.
For the boys, the last ranking was Rogers, North Little Rock, Springdale, Pulaski Academy, and Jonesboro. Then Jonesboro lost twice in tournament play in Conway, and Rogers lost to Russellville. That means six teams now have one loss in league play and Russellville and Fayetteville have two loses. Jonesboro is still undefeated in league play but they were defeated this weekend by Conway (2-0) and Fort Smith Southside (can't remember score) in full length games in tournament play. It appears to me that we have a 9 horse race for the top five spots and on any given day one team could beat another.
Nevertheless, we must still come up with a ranking. So here is my latest attempt:
1. North Little Rock (plays Pulaski Academy Tuesday).
2. Springdale (plays Russellville Monday)
3. Pulaski Academy (plays North Little Rock Tuesday).
4. Rogers
5. Russellville (plays Springdale Monday)
I know Russellville may not think it is fair that they are ranked below Rogers because they just defeated Rogers in a shoot out, but given overall season performance, I am going to leave Rogers at number 4. In reality, I think the top teams are almost interchangeable.
The girls don't get any easier. While Fayetteville is undefeated in league play, it was defeated by Central in tournament play. Yet, Southside beat Central and Fayetteville beat Southside. It is close. This weekend, Central plays Fayetteville. Somewhere I read that Fayetteville is going to play No.3 Pulaski Academy. I don't know who's ratings ranked Pulaski Academy at No. 3, but whoever it was missed a few good teams in between (Mount Saint Marys for one--they have defeated Pulaski Academy twice). The other problem is that while Fayetteville is undefeated in league play, the only top five team they have played is Southside and they won that game 1-0. They have played Mountain Home (1-5), Russellville (3-5), Springdale (3-4), and Bentonville (0-6). In the mean time, Mount Saint Marys, Central, Pulaski Academy, Conway and North Little Rock (not to mention a much improved Cabot team) have been slugging it out in the central part of the state, and have played each other. The Fayetteville Rogers match has been reschedule for April 10th and Fayetteville plays Southside again on the 17th, so, in my book, Fayetteville has three of its four hardest games of the season coming up in the next few weeks. Regardless, Fayetteville still deserves the Number 1 ranking, and I don't think anything else has changed for the top five teams during the spring break period.
1. Fayetteville
2. Fort Smith Southside
3. Central
4. Rogers
5. Mount Saint Marys
So, there it is. The rankings for the week of 4/2.
Jonesboro Tournament
The Central High School girls extended their tournament streak to two by defeating Mount Saint Mary's 3 to 1 in the finals in Jonesboro on Saturday, March 17.
The North Little Rock boys defeated the Jonesboro team in a shoot out.
It was a fun weekend but cold and windy. I do think the format Fayetteville used for its tournament is a better structure for high school soccer tournaments.
Monday 3/19 Update
Last week was very interesting and I was able to watch a number of the teams play in difficult conditions this past weekend at a tournament in Jonesboro. As a result, my top five teams are going to be reshuffled a bit.
Last week, I ranked the boys: Rogers, Pulaski Academy, Springdale, Catholic, North Little Rock.
This week, I believe Rogers must stay ranked number one. Their game against Fayetteville was canceled, but they are still undefeated. Pulaski Academy must fall out of its number two spot after losing to North Little Rock. Instead, I think North Little Rock now assumes the number two positions with Springdale still as number 3, Pulaski Academy as number 4 and Jonesboro is the new entry at number 5. So, recapping for the boys,
1. Rogers
2. North Little Rock
3. Springdale
4. Pulaski Academy
5. Jonesboro
Fayetteville is probably the team to watch to see if they can break into that number 5 spot with a couple of big wins. Catholic, Conway and Russellville are hanging around but are inconsistent. Central has unfortunately disappeared.
Last week I ranked the girls: Fayetteville, Mount Saint Marys, Fort Smith Southside, and Central, with Rogers and Pulaski Academy tied for fifth.
I am very disappointed that the big match between Fayetteville and Rogers was cancelled last week. It was a shame that game could not be played on an alternate field or something because other games were played in the area.
Regardless, Fayetteville must remain ranked number 1 as they are the only undefeated team. Without much reason to move the teams around other than I have had more opportunity to see them play, I am going to rearrange the others as follows: Fort Smith Southside as number 2 with Central close behind in the number three slot. Followed by Rogers and Mount Saint Mary's. To recap for the girls:
1. Fayetteville
2. Fort Smith Southside
3. Central High School
4. Rogers
5. Mount Saint Mary's
Unfortunately, with the way the state does its championship tournament, there is no way the top teams are all going to end up in the state tournament so we will have some very lop-sided early rounds and a few tough games all depending on the luck of the district boundaries.
Unfortunately, there are not a lot of games this week. Tonight, the North Little Rock boys play Catholic. Mount Saint Mary's plays Central on Tuesday night for a rematch of the Jonesboro tournament championship match which Central (without any of its starting seniors) won. Wednesday night the Catholic boys play Central in a big cross town rivalry.
That's it for now.
Tad
Week in Review 3/16
BOYS:
North Little Rock riding high; Premier NW Arkansas game canceled due to weather.
This has been an interesting week. As expected, North Little Rock defeated Central 3-0, Russellville defeated Mountain Home 5-1, Fayetteville defeated Bentonville 5-0, Pulaski Academy defeated Central 2-0, and Conway defeated Cabot 6-0.
Two big games, however, resulted in unanticipated result and one of the big games of the week was canceled. Starting with the latter, the showdown between Rogers and Fayetteville was canceled due to weather. Hopefully, this big match will be able to be rescheduled.
In one big game in central Arkansas, Conway defeated Catholic in a shootout. The game was fairly sedate, played between the thirties. Conway's keeper Tristain Fowler had to make a few more saves that Catholic's keeper, but I don't think he ever got dirty. Catholic's sweeper Aaron Elrod was kept busy, but was always up to the task. In the shootout, Conway finally won 4-3 after seven kickers.
In the biggest game, and probably biggest upset of the season, North Little Rock defeated Pulaski Academy 2-0. I was unable to attend the game, but from all reports, North Little Rock dominated. Apparently Jacob Harris and Adam Sobel controlled the midfield and the game, handing Pulaski Academy its first defeat. North Little Rock is coming on strong; North Little Rock has now defeated Pulaski Academy, Central, and Conway. They lost earlier in the season to Catholic, but since then Catholic has lost a couple of big games to Pulaski Academy and Conway. NLR is definitely a team to watch.
GIRLS
Central defeated North Little Rock 1-0, Russellville defeated Mountain Home 6-0, Fayetteville defeated Bentonville 9-0, Pulaski Academy defeated North Little Rock 2-1, Central defeated Pulaski Academy 3-0, and Springdale defeated Siloam Springs 9-0. The Fayetteville v. Rogers game was canceled due to weather.
The big game this week was between Conway and Mount Saint Marys. Fifteen minutes into the first half, Conway sweeper Jessica Williams scored off a well placed corner kick. After the goal, MSM came alive and started pounding the goal but Conway goalie Mindy Eggert was up to the task.
Mount Saint Marys struggled while it continued to play long ball, but got lucky when the midfield was able to find Shelby Vadejunec for a break away goal in which the Conway keeper came out to late, with 13 minutes left in the first half.
With 12 minutes gone in the second half, Christine Fleishour?? beat the MSM sweeper and found the far corner of the net. Mount Saint Marys tried to come back, but Mindy was up to the challenge of protecting the Conway net.
I don't know of any big games this weekend. Jonesboro is hosting a tournament. Next week, North Little Rock plays the Catholic schools, and Central plays the Catholic schools. I don't think there are any big games elsewhere in the state. Are spring breaks here?
New rankings will be out Monday.
Thanks for all of the scores and updates. Keep them coming.
Tad
Friday Night (3/9) Update
On Friday night (3/9) many of the state's top soccer teams will lace up their boots and fight to stay on top. If you are looking for some soccer excitement, Friday night should be a great night to get out and catch a local game as many exciting match-ups are coming your way.
On the girls side, I suspect the most interesting match will be played in the Northwest Arkansas. Coming off a big win in Fort Smith, the Fayetteville girls will play Springdale in Springdale. While Fayetteville is riding high after their 1-0 victory Tuesday night, 2 and 2 Springdale smells an upset if the Lady Bulldogs don't come out prepared to play their best.
The other interesting match will be between Conway and Pulaski Academy. Conway is coming off a disappointing shoot-out loss to North Little Rock and I am sure they will be ready for this match. PA was stung Tuesday night by Mount Saint Mary's and is looking to avenge their loss. I am sure this one will be fun.
In other matches, Central should have no problem with Jonesboro, Mount Saint Mary's should defeat Cabot, and Arkansas Baptist (4-0) should handle Oak Grove.
Looking ahead, the girls matches to anticipate are:
Rogers v. Fayetteville on March 15th, and
Mount Saint Mary's v. Central on March 20th.
For the boys, I will be at Quigley Stadium to watch 3-1 Central battle 1-0 Jonesboro. Jonesboro thinks they are overlooked and are ready for a fight. Central had better be ready or they may just get swept away by this Tornado.
In another great match, undefeated Pulaski Academy will face Conway at PA. Conway is still upset about its 4-3 loss to North Little Rock so I am sure they will be ready to get after it. Pulaski Academy is trying to go undefeated so I am sure they'll be up even though they just faced cross-town private school rival Catholic on Tuesday night. It will be interesting to see if Conway's back line can hold against the speed of PA's Kyle Owen and the Krullen twins. It will also be interesting to watch how the young Conway forwards and midfielders holds up against PA's bruising and punishing defense. Remember guys, its just a game; no one needs to get hurt.
Up north, Fayetteville will play Springdale. Both teams are 3-1 and they have not played a common opponent in league play yet. It should be fun.
In an interesting rematch, Arkansas Baptist (2-2) meets Oak Grove (4-2). Oak Grove won their first match 3-2, but Arkansas Baptist has now obtained Aaron West and Tim Dietrich from the basketball team so this could really be a great game.
Catholic should defeat Cabot easily. Sorry Cabot.
Looking ahead, the matches to anticipate are:
Catholic at Conway on March 13th,
Rogers v. Fayetteville on March 15th,
PA at Central on March 15th, and
Catholic at Central on March 22nd.
See you on the fields,
Tad
Soccer, it's a kick in the grass!
March 6th Big Day for Top Teams
On Tuesday, March 6, top teams faced each other to determine who will move up and down in the ranking early this season. For the girls, Fort Smith Southside met Fayetteville for the right to claim the No. 1 spot. From reports, the first half ended in a scoreless tie. Midway through the second half Fayetteville was able to get a shot to land on goal and took the 1-0 lead to win the game. From all accounts that I have received, the game was a great competition and it could go either way when these teams meet again later in the year, but for right now the Fayetteville girls will get to claim the No. 1 spot in the ranking for a while.
The boys side had two interesting matches. No. 1 Pulaski Academy played Catholic and ended up winning 3-1. From all reports the game was fast and physical.
Two boys teams fighting to stay in the top 5 also met Tuesday night in Conway when the Wampus Cats played North Little Rock in an exciting game. This game was a thriller that I had the privilege to attend. Early in the first half, freshman Sam Freyaldenhoven put Conway in the lead when he was able to run onto a long ball, dribble the keeper (Bobby Harrison) and tuck the ball neatly into the back of the net. Conway started the game with four freshmen on the field: Dylan Rolleigh, Sam Freyaldenhoven, Martin Lamb, and Seth Irons. Conway then went 2 up when Sam was fouled while crossing the penalty box with the ball and Senior Chad McCarthy deftly converted the penalty kick. The half ended with Conway leading 2-0. Conway game out fired up in the second half and scored a third goal within the first five minutes. Then, North Little Rock came roaring back. With 26 minutes left, Jacob Harris dribbled the Conway defense and scored North Little Rock's first goal with a nice shot to the near post. North Little Rock then proceeded to score two more goals on "High School Corner Kicks"--a throw-in that is able to reach all the way to the far post because the fields are so narrow. Then, Jacob scored with winning goal when Mitchell Ross's shot was deflected by keeper Tristian Fowler but Jacob was there to finish the rebound of the cross bar. North Little Rock wins this come from behind thriller 4-3.
It should be noted that two important Conway seniors spent most of their time during the game on the bench for disciplinary reasons--failure to come to practice. I compliment Coach Irons for his willingness to bench two of his better players in this important game. I also give much of the credit to NLR's come from behind effort to Jacob Harris who rallied his team and took control on the field and scored two important goals (the first and the winner).
Little Rock Central Girls Wins Fayetteville Tournament
The Little Rock Central Varsity Girls defeated the Fayetteville Varsity Girls to win Fayetteville's pre-season tournament. This match may have been a preliminary the state high school tournament final.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS FOR 2002
The new alignment of the regions means new expections and surprises. Also, recent graduations and the arrival of some strong sophomores have changed the mix and personality of many teams.
AAAAA Boys Region 1 (West)
This is going to be an extremely tough region. Springdale will probably advance to the state tournament, but its partner will be a three way horse race between Rogers, Fayetteville and Russellville. Right now I go with Russellville, but I think the improvement of these teams will really make the difference come time for the regional tournament and Rogers and Fayettevile both have strong coaches who will get the best out of their playes.
AAAAA Girls Region I (West)
Too tough to call right now. I'll get back to you in a couple of days.
AAAAA Boys Region II (Central)
Despite Central's performance last year, North Little Rock is the team to beat. The question is, will the seniors lead the NLR team to a championship or will they get senioritis and "leave school early." If they keep it together, NLR will be a force that can win the state championship. The next two are Central and Catholic, two very different teams with many critical changes from last year. Conway is the "young" dark horse-few seniors and a bunch of sophomores and freshmen.
AAAAA Girls Region II (Central)
Three way race-Central, North Little Rock, and Mount Saint Marys. MSM has speed, Central has "touch," and NLR lost very few players last year.
AAAAA Boys Region III (East)
Jonesboro, Mountain Home and Cabot lead this pack. Sylvan Hills will give it a run, but I think it will come down to Jonesboro and either Mountain Home or Cabot.
AAAAA Girls Region III (East)
Jonesboro will win it and then . . . who knows?
AAAAA Boys Region IV (South)
Texarkana should finish strong and win this Region. Then Bryant or El Dorado. Lake Hamilton and Sheridan are new programs.
AAAAA Girls Region IV (South)
El Dorado and Benton.
AAAA Boys Region I (West)
Eleven teams--second largest region in the state. Harrison will be on top with Siloam Springs and Subiaco close behind.
AAAA Girls Region I (West)
Harrison again, after that it is a real race.
AAAA Boys Region II (Central)
Twelve teams-largest region in the state. Until realignment, Pulaski Academy was in for a long year. Now, PA has a shot to win region with Central Arkansas Christian. Arkansas Baptist and Oak Grove will not be far behind.
AAAA Girls Region II (Central)
Ten teams--another big region. Again, Pulaski Academy and Central Arkansas Christian should lead this pack, but there are a number of teams that can jump into this race.
AAAA Boys Region III (East)
Searcy is in a class by itself in this region.
AAAA Girls Region III (East)
Searcy is in a class by itself in this region.
AAAA Boys Region IV (South)
Tough one to call but probably Arkadelphia and one of the two Hot Springs teams (Hot Springs and Hot Springs Lakeside)--I just don't know which one. All of these teams graduated a lot of players from last season.
AAAA Girls Region IV (South)
Adjustment from earlier predictions. Hot Springs will be the team to beat with Arkadelphia and Lakeside struggling to keep up.
Tuesday, March 5
As anticipated, Tuesday night had some great soccer in the state. I didn't get a field conditions report from the northwest but I heard the two games between Fort Smith Southside and Springdale lived up to their billings as great matches.
In the girls game, Southside struck first (twice) and was up 2-0 half way through the first half. Then, Springdale's Chessa Baldwin cut the lead in half and Kellie Kirby tied the game before the half ended. In the second half, both teams traded shots, but neither could find in the net so the regulation game ended tied 2-2. In the ensuing shootout, Southside scored on two of their first three shots while Springdale missed all four attempts. (I guess when know what the Springdale girls will be practicing this week.) Southside wins 3-2.
In the boys games, Springdale scored first (twice) but Southside battled back to tie the game in regulation. Again, Southside won the shootout, but this time it took extra (sudden death) shooters to decide the match.
Southside comes out on top in both matches and now probably has to be considered the teams to beat in the 5A East Region.
In Russellville, the Central girls dominated the Russellville girls, and won 6-0. It was only 2-0 at half, but the game was over by then.
The boys match, however, was another story. As anticipated, the teams matched up well on the field. The difference in the game ended up being the difference between the defenses and the goalies. I was at this game. In the first half, the teams traded shots fairly evenly, with Central getting more and better shots and Russellville shooting right at the goalie. Russellville's defense was solid. Matt McShane, Brian Krost and Chris Horton played really well the entire game(just too flat, but more on that later). About midway through the first half, Jon Shirron drew a tough yellow card and was sent to the bench. At this point, Gary Berner was moved to midfield to replace Shirron and Justin Sherry (I think) was put in to replace Berner at left fullback. The substitution of Sherry raised the speed, closing ability and general pace of the Russellville defense making it tough to crack. With the loss of Shirron, however, Central to take absolute control of the midfield with Shep Russell for Central controlling the play and pace. The first half ended 0-0.
In the second half, Jon Shirron returned to midfield for Russellville; Russell, who was everywhere in the first half for Central, continued to play but ran out of gas as the second half wore on. (Substitution by the Central bench was sporatic, limited, and ineffective.) As a result, Russellville dominated play in the midfield in the second half and took control of the game. Russellville scored the only goal of the game on a nice cross from the left side and a one touch shot to the far post. Central's defenders got caught on the outside of the far post shooter and it appeared that the Central goalier didn't even try to get across to make the far post save.
Until the goal was scored, Russellville pressured and pressured the Central defense (as much as you can pressure with only 6 in the attack), and then a strange thing happened. Russellville pulled 5 back to defend the two Central forwards. The Central midfield was wore out and the forwards were on their own. 5-2 was safe but it let Central's defense relax and Brandon Chandler moved from sweeper to forward. If Russellville would have kept the pressure on, it probably would have scored two or three more, but by moving into such a defensive posture, and allowing Brandon to move to forward, Central was able to get off a few opportunities to tie the score.
Despite the changes in midfield control, the most interesting aspect of the game was the four defenders for each team. Four guys covering two forwards and none effectively getting into the attack to support the chances on goal with numbers. Central's Brandon Chandler made several runs out of the back with the ball to try to create some havoc at the other end of the field, but the four Russellville defenders were fixed. Repeatedly, Matt McShane would move forward to win a ball after it had already been played out of the Central defensive area, but then he was in a footrace for the ball with a Central player. If either defense would have pushed a player forward sooner to support their attacks more effectively, the game would have been over in the first half--for one team or the other.
In other games,
Fort Smith Southside defeated Springdale twice (both boys and girls) in shootouts. Searcy boys defeated North Little Rock. MSM and Catholic defeated PA. Cabot boys beat Sylvan Hills, Texarkana boys beat Arkadelphia but the Arkadelphia girls exacted revenge. Lakeside boys clobbered Hope. Jacksonville boys defeated Valley View.
Friday, March 8
Thursday night we had a few games, and a couple of big surprises.
Hot Springs Boys defeated Stuttgart Boys 5-1. Five different players scored for Hot Springs.
Fayetteville Boys defeated Eureka Springs Boyrs 7-1.
CAC girls defeated Arkansas Baptist girls 7-2
CAC boys defeated Arkansas Baptist boys 1-0.
LR Christian girls defeated Batesville 7-0. Jenn Eakin had 4 goals and 1 assist.
LR Christian boys defeated Batesville 4-2.
Tonight is a big game in 4A Central between LR Christian and Oak Grove.
In a close match, that wasn't necessarily a surprise but it shows us how well the Harrison girls are playing, 4A Harrison defeated 5A Mount Saint Marys 3-2 in Harrison.
The 4A match up to look for is Harrison v. Searcy. Those are going to be some games.
Conway Varsity Girls 4, North Little Rock Girls 1
In a big matchup, the young Conway boys tied the Senior driven North Little Rock boys 1-1 at the end of regulation time. I didn't get to see the game so I don't know how goals were scored. In the shoot out, Conway scored its first three and NLR missed its first three so Conway upset NLR. That is two big losses for the NLR boys this week. Earlier they were defeated in the last ten seconds by Searcy.
I have seen a number of games now, and I have noticed a disturbing trend. The "BUNKERED BOX," "pack the box and play for the shootout." In many instances it is clear that teams are putting 8 and 9 players in front of their goal and just hoping for a tie. BORING! In one game I watched, (I would only watch part of it because I was getting sick from what I was seeing) one team had nine players in the box and two players up top. If one of the nine players would ever leave the box to support the attack, or pressure the opposing team, the coach would yell, "get back." This can't be fun for the kids, just stand in the box and jump in front of every shot while the other team pounds your goal without any pressure until they try to pass the ball into the penalty area. It certainly is not even trying to teach them how to play good soccer. It may mean that the team can say "we held a good team to 1 to nothing," but anyone who saw the game knows it wasn't even close--including the kids that played in it. A few teams have someone fast enough up top that they can get a few chances with the rest of the team bunkered in the back, but all the other kids get to do is "watch Jessica or Johnny" try to win the game for them. I don't know, coaches may think it is effective and a good thing, but I don't like it. People wonder why we can't get more people to watch soccer games? Bunkered defenses are certainly one contributing cause.
With the current playoff system, results in the regular season mean little (look at the Central High School boys from last year), so why not the the kids play and learn how to play the game--not spend 80 minutes hanging out in the box.
On Friday, Conway plays Texarkana. This should be an exciting Central v. South match-up. It will be Conway's third game of the week. Jonesboro plays Central. Central girls will win, but I am picking the Jonesboro boys. Fayetteville plays Fort Smith Southside.
I have been told that the NLR v. PA games and the Harrison v. Catholic/MSM scheduled for Friday has been canceled due to basketball state championship conflicts. However, Springdale and Rogers will make up the matches that were originally scheduled for 2/19 on Friday night.
March 20, 2002
RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY,
SO WE CAN PLAY ANOTHER GAME!
If I have your schedule, it is posted. If I have scores for your games, they are posted. A number of people have asked why some scores are not reported; it is for one of two reasons. First, I don't report tournament or junior varsity scores. Second, I only report scores as they are reported to me. So, if you played a regular season varsity game and the score is not posted on this website, it is because the score has not been reported to me (or because I misplaced it so please send it to me again). Get me the score and I will post it.
In the next couple of weeks most schools will go on spring break and we can consider the season half way through. It has been a great season so far with a lot of parity. Few teams have been totally dominant. The next few weeks should make a real difference in seating for the regional tournaments.
Unfortunately, the weather has postponed or cancelled many games. I don't know if all of them will be rescheduled, but many of them are very important in the conference standings.
Here is the way I see it.
4A South Girls - Looks like Hot Springs and Arkadelphia are the two teams to beat.
4A East Girls - Searcy is on top, it is difficult to tell who will come in second.
4A Central Girls - The Oak Grove girls are running strong, but this region is going to have a really tight tournament with Oak Grove, LR Christian, Arkansas Baptist, CAC and PA fighting hard for the two available spots at the state tournament.
4A West Girls - Harrison is running away with the region, with Greenwood not far behind.
4A South Boys - Hot Springs and Hot Springs Lakeside are going to battle for the top positions in this region, with Arkadelphia looking to play spoiler
4A East Boys - Searcy will be followed by ?, probably Paragould.
4A Central Boys - Oak Grove is on top with a 6 and 3 record, but several other teams will be in the hunt. Pulaski Academy does not have a very impressive record, but they have been playing competition at a much higher level than Oak Grove. Little Rock Christian is about .500 but playing fairly well. Arkansas Baptist is another team with a less than stellar record, but they played the first several games with only 9 players. Pulaski Academy has a good chance to win this Region's tournament, and I think the second position will go to Oak Grove.
4A West Boys - Harrison is running away with this one, beating 5A teams too! After that, it is too close to call.
My 4A Rankings (not necessarily based on record, but also based on difficulty of schedule). Boys: 1. Searcy; 2. Harrison; 3. Pulaski Academy; 4. Hot Springs; 5. Oak Grove; 6. Hot Springs Lakeside; 7. Paragould. Girls: 1. Harrison; 2. Searcy; 3. Pulaski Academy; 4. Oak Grove; 5. Hot Springs; 6. CAC; 7. Arkansas Baptist.
5A West Boys - Rogers has the best record, but I think this one will come down to a three way race between Russellville, Fort Smith Southside and Springdale. Rogers can play a spoiler with any of these three.
5A Central Boys - Hall is undefeated, but I think this one will be a three way race between Central, Catholic and North Little Rock. I picked North Little Rock before the season started to win state and so far they have struggled, but they may still pull it together by tournament time. Central is struggling at times with an uncertain game strategy. Catholic is just sitting comfortably in the middle of the pack. Hall needs to play a much tougher schedule to get ready to do battle with the strength of Central, Catholic and North Little Rock.
5A East Boys - Cabot is flying higher than expected. Jonesboro is playing about where I thought they would be. I anticipate those two teams will top this Region, but Sylvan Hills and Mountain Home would like to spoil that prediction.
5A South Boys - Texarkana, Benton and El Dorado. Texarkana will probably come out on top and then Benton and El Dorado will battle it out for the second spot in the state tournament.
5A West Girls - Fort Smith Southside is on top with Springdale and Russellville following close behind. Fayetteville thinks they are being counted out too early as they have at least one win against the top three (don't know if they have more because I can't seem to get Fayetteville scores). I unfortunately left Southside out of my preseason predictions, but I expect this one to be a close race between the four previously mentioned. Rogers will try to play spoiler among the top four.
5A Central Girls - Conway has the most win, but LR Central is definitely the team to beat in the 5A Central Region. Then, it will be a three way race between Conway, North Little Rock and Mount Saint Mary for the final spot at the state tournament. I guess it will probably be MSM, but NLR will probably scream because they defeated MSM last week 2-1.
5A East Girls - Jonesboro, Cabot and Mills. As much as I would like to see Mills make the state tournament, I think it will be Jonesboro and Cabot unless the brackets for the Region tournament are put together funny.
5A South Girls - El Dorado and Bryant, then a fight.
My 5A rankings (again, not necessarily based on record, but also based on difficulty of schedule). Girls: I don't know where to put Fayetteville; I don't have enough results from their games. I know they won the state championship the last several years, and I have received emails from them stating that they believe they are the team to beat, but . . . . So here goes it: 1. LR Central (I know Fort Smith Southside is going to scream, but I still think LR Central is the team to beat); 2. Fort Smith Southside; 3. Fayetteville; 4. Springdale; 5. Conway; 6. MSM; 7. North Little Rock; 8. Russellville; 9. El Dorado; 10. Jonesboro. Boys: I still think NLR is the team to beat in the state if they will play the game as good as I know those players can. But, until they show me they can actually do it, I'll rank them like this: 1. Russellville; 2. Springdale; 3. North Little Rock; 4. Fort Smith Southside; 5. Jonesboro; 6. LR Central; 7. Catholic; 8. LR Hall; 9. Cabot; 10. Texarkana.
Ok, here they are. My first unofficial state rankings for the year. Now we can move them around during the rest of the season. I will also try to create a statewide ranking (without consideration of the 4A and 5A distinctions) just for fun.
Spring Breaks
Last week several areas of the state were on spring break and most of the few remaining games were cancelled due to rain. This week other areas are on spring break but it appears that some games are getting played.
I don't know what happened to the 4A West Boys section on the website. The teams, schedule, scores are all gone. I don't know exactly when or how they disappeared. I will try to get to restored shortly.
Last week I posted rankings. I have not updated them yet and will probably no do so until the week after everyone returns from spring break and we get another round of games under our belt.
Rankings from 3/20:
4A Boys:
1. Searcy
2. Harrison
3. Pulaski Academy
4. Hot Springs
5. Oak Grove
6. Hot Springs Lakeside
7. Paragould.
4A Girls:
1. Harrison
2. Searcy
3. Pulaski Academy
4. Oak Grove
5. Hot Springs
6. CAC
7. Arkansas Baptist
5A Girls
1. LR Central
2. Fort Smith Southside
3. Fayetteville
4. Springdale
5. Conway
6. MSM
7. North Little Rock
8. Russellville
9. El Dorado
10. Jonesboro.
5A Boys:
1. Russellville
2. Springdale
3. North Little Rock
4. Fort Smith Southside
5. Jonesboro
6. LR Central
7. Catholic
8. LR Hall
9. Cabot
10. Texarkana
Since the rankings came out:
Russellville Boys defeated Searcy 4-0
Searcy Girls defeated Russellville 6-1
Fayetteville Boys defeated Rogers 1-0 (SO)
Rogers Girls defeated Fayetteville 2-1
The Central v. Fort Smith Soutside matchups were cancelled due to rain.
Catholic v. Texarkana was also cancelled due to rain.
April 2,
Last week saw a few interesting games. The Fayetteville girls played a tough Bentonville team with the Fayetteville Lady Bulldogs coming out on top 3-0. Maureen Howard scored two of the three goals. The Fayetteville boys defeated Bentonville 2-0. Both goals came off headers.
The Bryant girls' team defeated Hot Springs Lakeside at Bryant on Monday night in a shootout. Lakeside scored first with 16:50 left to play in the first half off a breakaway. Bryant countered in the second half when Senior Shannon Baker blasted the ball into the upper right corner from about 12 yards out. In the ensuing shootout, Bryant's goalkeeper Michelle Dinsmore smothers all five shots while Bryant's 3rd shooter scored the winning goal.
In the Russellville boys win over Rogers (5-1) Aaron Williams recorded a hat trick.
Also, lets hear it for the improvement of the Flippin boys team. Earlier in the season, Eureka Springs dominated them, but this weekend Flippin kept it close, losing only 5 to 3.
April 4
Are players from your school going to play college soccer? Please send me names of players, colleges, high school and club team (if any) and I will post them on the web site. If people can see that kids are getting scholarships to play soccer in college, it can only help the development of the sport. If you know the scholarship amount, and are willing to share it, please send that information too! I will not list it by the individual players, but will try to keep a running total.
Tuesday night saw some great games all over the state. It is tough to decide where to start, but I think I will begin with a new program. Last night the Sheridan boys broke out of its scoring slump and defeated the Stuttgart Ricebirds 4-2.
Turn a little farther south, the El Dorado boys turned the 5A south ranking upside down when they defeated the Texarkana squad 2-1. The regulation game ended tied 1-1 and then El Dorado won the shoot out 2-0. The El Dorado girls defeated the Texarkana girls 4 to 1.
The other big game was up North where Russellville traveled to Springdale. The Springdale girls dominated play and won 2-0. The first goal came from freshman Amber Hart with 15 minutes remaining in the first period after she received a pass in the box by junior Lindsey Schell. The second tally came with less than 2 minutes remaining in the match when senior Megan Lindsey assured the victory with her third goal of the season off a cross from sophomore Bitsy Miller.
The boys Bulldog squad also came out on top in another tightly contested battle. I have the real scope now. (if you missed the earlier report you won't understand the previou sentence, but you should have looked earlier.) The first goal came about 65 minutes into the match off a free kick from about 65 yards out by Seth Livingston which found the head of Victor Rangel who deftly put the ball past Russellville keeper Ian Goodman.
The second goal occurred with 2:30 left in the game, after Russellville had pushed forward numbers to try to find an equalizer. The assist was from Ruben Chavez who place a nice to split three defenders and found Sammy Tejada in front of the goal. Tejada planted the ball into the back of the net giving SHS the 2-0 margin. The Cyclone defense is struggling without Matt McShane, who is out with a back injury.
Lake Hamilton's girls defeated Benton in a shoot out. The game ended tied 1-1 and then Lake Hamilton won in the shootout after six kickers. The Lake Hamilton boys also defeated Benton by a score of 4-2. Edward Anaiya had all four goals for Lake Hamilton, a hat trick plus 1.
Previously I incorrectly reported that Searcy boys defeated Jonesboro 1-0. In actuality, Jonesboro defeated Searcy 1-0. Sorry for the mistake. The Searcy girls defeated Jonesboro 4-0. This is the first win by a Searcy girls team over Jonesboro.
Jacksonville girls lost to North Pulaski in a shootout after the game ended tied 1-1. Jacksonville boys defeated North Pulaski 4-1. Jeffery Shelton and Billy Vazquez each scored two goals for Jacksonville.
Pulaski Academy scored 3 goals in the first 4 minutes and went on to defeat LR Christian 7-0. Pulaski Academy boys defeated LR Christian 5-3.
Little Rock Hall Boys improved to 8-1 with a 4-1 win over Arkansas Baptist. Arkansas Baptist girls defeated Hall 5-0. Raquel Amaro scored 4 goals.
Little Rock Central girls defeated North Little Rock 4-0. Little Rock Central is now 8-0 in regular season play. North Little Rock Boys defeated Central boys 1-0.
Conway defeated CAC 4-0. In his first game back after a pre season injury Sam Freyaldenhoven returned to form with a goal and two or three post. The Conway girls also defeated CAC by a score of 1-0. The goal was scored by Abby Myers. That makes the Conway girls 8-1 and clearly in second place in the 5A Central, but they have two big games next week against Pulaski Academy and Mount Saint Marys.
I was at Oak Grove to referee the Sylvan Hills match. This was a great game with good play by both teams. Oak Grove scored first off a great header by Jordan Williams. Sylan Hills then rallied to take the lead 2-1. The second goal occurred when the left forward made a beautiful cross in front of the goal for a Sylvan Hills attacker who had made a 30 yard run to one touch the cross and bury it in the back of the net. Shortly thereafter, Williams equalized for Oak Grove. Then with three minutes remaining, a Sylvan Hills player beat three Oak Grove defenders down the left side and found the net with a nice shot to near post.
Rogers played Bentonville In the varsity boys game the score was 5 to 1 for Bentonville.....Rogers scored first with about 25 min left to play in the first half....in a period of about 13 min Bentonville scored 4 goals. In the girls game the rogers team won 3 TO 0 ..Robyn
Sutherland scored 2 goals and Kresa Gibson scored one...only one shot on goal
from Bentonville.
There are still bunch of good games this week and weekend. Check the calendar to see who is playing and when.
College Bound Players
The players listed below are going to play soccer in college. When you see them, tell them congratulations. So far, over $250,000 in college scholarships has been awarded to these players.
Arkansas Baptist High School
Michael Freemen - John Brown University
Conway High School
Abby Myers (Rip Tide) - Univ of Central AR
Fort Smith Southside
Ben Barling (Express) - St. Mary's University
Colby Keesee (Express) - UALR
Stephanie Ray (Express) - Arkansas State Univ
Harrison High School
Christina Cope - UALR
Chris Thompson - Oklahoma Weslyan Univ.
Jonesboro High School
Robert Kaloghirou - Lyon College
Little Rock Central High School
Melissa Bandy (LRFC) - Davidson
Katie Benson (LRFC) - Belmont College
Linsdey Brown (LRFC) - McNeese State
Brandon Chandler (LRFC) - Lambuth College
Elise Norton (LRFC) - Appalachian State
Monday, April 8, 2002
Texarkana boys would like a game on Tuesday, April 16. Texarkana will not be at full strength because of Spring Break, but it will be a mixture of the varsity and junior varsity team. Contact Tony Hartman soon if interested. email: thartman@texarkanacollege.edu
Home phone: 870-772-4945
Worl phone: 903-832-5565 x3314
Location of Regional/State Tournaments
Regional, April 22-25
Class AAAAA
Region 1 FS Southside
Region 2 North Little Rock
Region 3 Cabot
Region 4 Benton
AAAAA State Finals, May 4 Jonesboro
Class AAAA
Region 1 Harrison
Region 2 Arkansas Baptist
Region 3 Searcy
Region 4 Hot Springs
AAAA State Finals, May 4 - Harrison
Last weekend there were a bunch of great games.
On Friday night, Russellville defeated Clarksville twice. Arkadelphia Girls defeated Lakeside 3-2. Hot Springs boys defeated LR Lutheran 2-0. Lake Hamilton boys defeated Hope 7-2. Texarkana boys defeated Benton in shootout after regulation game ended tied 0-0. Texarkana girls defeated Benton 1-0. Sylvan Hills boys defeated Arkansas Baptist 6-0. Berryville boys defeated Eureka Springs in a shootout after regulation game ended tied 2-2. LR Central girls defeated Fayetteville 2-0. Fayetteville boys defeated LR Central 2-1.
On Saturday, LR Central girls defeated Springdale 4-0; Springdale boys defeated LR Central 3-0. Conway boys defeated Catholic 1-0 on a penalty kick. Arkdelphia plays El Dorado.
LR Christian girls defeated Hall 5-4 in a shootout. Game ended tied 4-4. Jennifer
Eakin scored a hat trick for LR Christian. Ashley Grimsley had two goals for Hall.
A lot of these games are important for next week's Regional meetings.
I still apologize that some of the standings are not correct. The standings are supposed to be generated automatically from the scores posted, but the standings in a couple of the Regions are not correct. I don't know why. I have notified eteamz and they are supposed to be working on it, but they don't appear to be in a hurry. Hopefully they will get it fixed soon.
It is my understanding that most of the regions are having the seeding and scheduling meeting for their tournaments next week. Good luck. A couple of people have asked me how the tournaments will be set up. I am not certain. I have not seen anything from AAA, but I do know they are single elimination, so I suspect they will be set up as follows:
4 TEAMS:
Semi's = 1 v 4 and 2 v 3
5 TEAMS:
1st Round = 5 v 4
Semi's = 2 v 3, and 1 v Winner of 5v4
6 TEAMS:
1st Round = No 1 and No 2 get byes to the Semi's; 3 v 6 and 4 v 5.
Semi's = No. 1 v Winner of 4v5; No. 2 v. Winner of 3v6.
7 TEAMS:
Just like 8 Team bracket but No 1 Team gets bye in first round.
8 TEAMS:
1st Round = 1 v 8, 4 v 5, 2 v 7, and 3 v 6
Semi's = Winner of 1v8 vs Winner of 4v5; Winner of 2v7 vs Winner of 3v6
9 TEAMS:
Just like 8 Teams but 8th and 9th teams play a preliminary game and the winner gets the No. 8 spot.
11 TEAMS:
Just like 8 Teams, but in a preliminary round 6 will play 11 for the No. 6 spot, 7 will play 10 for the No. 7 spot and 8 will play 9 for the No. 8 spot. This is a change from what I printed earlier. I missed a team.
The State Tournament brackets have been announced and they are the same for all four (4A and 5A, Boys and Girls).
South 1 v. West 2
East 1 v. Central 2
Each of the winners in the two games above will play in a semi-final match.
West 1 v. East 2
Central 1 v. South 2
Each of the winners in the two games above will play in a semi-final match.
Don't forget to send me college player information if you want to include those kids in the list I have posted in the first articles under "NEWS".
If you will send me list of players currently playing in college, I will post those too!
As we get down to the end, keep the scores and game reports coming. Take care and I hope to see you on the fields. Tuesday night I will be in Hot Springs for the Hot Springs v. Arkadelphia girls game.
Tad Bohannon
April 9, 2002
Texarkana boys would like a game on Tuesday, April 16. Texarkana will not be at full strength because of Spring Break, but it will be a mixture of the varsity and junior varsity team. Contact Tony Hartman soon if interested. email: thartman@texarkanacollege.edu
Home phone: 870-772-4945
Worl phone: 903-832-5565 x3314
Location of Regional/State Tournaments
Regional, April 22-25
Class AAAAA
Region 1 FS Southside
Region 2 North Little Rock
Region 3 Cabot
Region 4 Benton
AAAAA State Finals, May 4 Jonesboro
Class AAAA
Region 1 Harrison
Region 2 Arkansas Baptist
Region 3 Searcy
Region 4 Hot Springs
AAAA State Finals, May 4 - Harrison
Last night there were a few games, check out the score reports for your region on the website.
I still apologize that some of the standings are not correct. The standings are supposed to be generated automatically from the scores posted, but the standings in a couple of the Regions are not correct. I don't know why. I have notified eteamz and they are supposed to be working on it, but they don't appear to be in a hurry. Hopefully they will get it fixed soon.
REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS
Region 3 (East) 5A
Boys
#1 Jonesboro
#2 Cabot
#3 Mountain Home
#4 Sylvan Hills
#5 Jacksonville
#4 v. #5 April 20 at 4:30
#3 v. #6 April 20 at 10:30
#1 v. (Winner of 4v5) April 22 at 1:00
#2 v. (Winner of 3v6) April 22 at 6:30
Boys Final April 24 at 7:30
Girls
#1 Cabot
#2 Mountain Home
#3 LR Mills
#4 Jonesboro
#5 Jacksonville
#6 Sylvan Hills
#4 v. #5 April 20 at 2:30
#3 v. #6 April 20 at 12:30
#1 v. (Winner of 4v5) April 22 at 11:00
#2 v. (Winner of 3v6) April 22 at 4:30
Girls Final April 24 at 5:30
The State Tournament brackets have been announced and they are the same for all four (4A and 5A, Boys and Girls).
South 1 v. West 2
East 1 v. Central 2
Each of the winners in the two games above will play in a semi-final match.
West 1 v. East 2
Central 1 v. South 2
Each of the winners in the two games above will play in a semi-final match.
Don't forget to send me college player information if you want to include those kids in the list I have posted in the first articles under "NEWS".
If you will send me list of players currently playing in college, I will post those too!
As we get down to the end, keep the scores and game reports coming. Take care and I hope to see you on the fields. Tuesday night I will be in Hot Springs for the Hot Springs v. Arkadelphia girls game.
Tad Bohannon
Sour Taste
We are headed to another state soccer tournament and I think most of us that follow the sport closely are going with a sour taste in our mouths. Something is rotten in Denmark and it is time for some changes.
It is time to get rid of the shootout. While we call it a "MLS style" shootout, even the MLS got rid of it several years ago. There is nothing wrong with ties during the regular season. In fact, I think ties would be more representative of a season's record that a team with 5 wins but all of them are shootout wins. During the tournament, and during the season if we can't have ties, we should reward the team with the most offense--the team trying to actually win the game on the field of play during regulation play. Tie breakers are necessary and have been installed due to the necessity of finding a winner in a world with limited time. But some people have used tie breakers as a strategy for winning, not as a means of deciding a game after both teams have tried their best to win it in regulation play. Years ago youth games that ended in a tie were decided on the the basis of corner kicks. The team with the most corner kicks won the game. The idea being that the team with the most corner kicks was attacking the other team's goal the most. Another alternative is to award the win to the team with the most shots on goal. That way the team that attacks the most, and in most instances had the best opportunity to win the game, is awarded the win. Others may have different ideas at to what the tie-breaker should be, but the win should go the team that tries to win, not the team that plays for a tie. And even if both teams are really trying to win, in the event a game ends in a tie, the game should go to the team that creates the most chances to score, not to the team that just prevents the other team from scoring.
The regional championship should mean more that just seeding at the state tournament. I have a couple of suggestions. First, only the regional champion advances to the state tournament. This would solve several problems. The season could end a week earlier; the regional championship would be very important; the state tournament could be played in one weekend (semi-finals on Thursday or Friday with Championship on Saturday). Another solution would be for the two teams that meet in the regional championship to play in the first round of the state championship and the score carries over. In other words, if two teams tied in the regional championship, they would be co-region champions. If one team wins in the regional championship, that team would be the regional champion and then those same two teams would meet again in the first round of the state tournament. The kicker would be that the score from the regional championship game would carry over. To see who advances to the semi-final match of the state tournament, you would calculate a composite score of both the regional championship game and the first round game in the state tournament. Lose the regional championship 4-0 and you would enter the first round of the state tournament with a 4 goal deficit. Then again, maybe we don't change anything and we just hope the class of people involved in the sport improves.
Let's face it, we are all thinking it. The performance of some teams in the 5A West regional final was not about resting players. It was about seeding at the state tournament. To put it bluntly, it was about manipulation of the system to achieve a goal--winning or making the best showing possible at the state tournament. It was made possible because the west regional finals were held after all of the other regions had completed their tournaments. Most of us saw this coming when the state brackets were announced. Yesterday a friend of mine called and asked if I wanted a ride to Fort Smith to watch the girls final. I said, "what for? Only one team is going to show up to play." Fayetteville is smart enough to know that they want to come in second so they don't have to play the winner of the Central region in the semi-finals. They will say they need to rest players for the first round of the state tournament because their tournament ended later than everyone else, but this is really about fear of playing the Central region champions. From the reports in the paper, I think Coach Friddle and Coach Tiffee from Southside got it right and they had the courage to say so.
Sure, the kids that played, played hard and they played to win. But everyone knows the team did not play to win the regional championship because the best players didn't play. That said, maybe Fayetteville was right. We say that sports should teach life lessons. We probably all agree that sometimes you need to take a step backwards before you can move forward. When I was talking with some individuals earlier, I wondered what I would do if I was a coach in the regional championship. Would I run the risk of getting a player hurt or red carded? If your goal is a state championship, the regional championship means nothing. To borrow an analogy from track; it doesn't matter who wins the first leg of a one mile relay. It is the team that crosses the finish line first that wins. Sometimes you give up an early leg so you can have the strongest runner at the end. I actually wondered if a coach would put seven players on the field for the regional championship game and tell them to have a nice chat in the center circle for 80 minutes. Achieving what is best for the players in the long run sometimes requires sacrifices along the way. The race does not always go to the swiftest, but to those that can pace themselves.
Is it wrong to play to lose? Yes! Is it wrong to do everything you can, within the rules, to position your team in the best possible place to win a state championship? No! What happens when positioning yourself to win a state championship means not playing your best? We all get a bad taste in our mouth.
As I said in the title, the time has come for some things to go. We need to do away with shootouts. Being Regional Champion needs to mean something. State champions for soccer, a developing sport in state, need to be decided differently than they are in other sports where competition within the regions is more balanced. Playing with "class" and "within the spirit of the competition" needs to be more important than playing to win.
Tad Bohannon
Regional Results
REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS
Region 1 (West) 5A - Fort Smith Southside
Boys
#1. Russellville
#2. Southside
#3. Springdale
#4. Fayetteville
#5. Rogers
#6. Bentonville
#7. Van Buren
#8. Northside
2 v. 7, April 22, 5:00 (RJH), Southside defeats Van Buren 8 to 1.
1 v. 8, April 22, 7:30 (NS), Russellville defeats Northside 1 to 0.
4 v. 5, April 23, 5:00 (NS), Fayetteville defeats Rogers in shootout.
3 v. 6, April 23, 7:30 (RJH), Springdale defeats Bentonville 6 to 1
Russellville v. Fayetteville, April 24, 7:30 (RJH), Fayetteville defeated Russellville 2-0
Springdale v. Southside, April 24, 5:00 (NS), Southside defeated Springdale 2-0.
Boys Final, Fayetteville and Southside, April 25, 7:30 (NS), Southside defeats Fayetteville.
Girls
#1. Russellville
#2. Southside
#3. Fayetteville
#4. Springdale
#5. Rogers
#6. Northside
#7. Bentonville
#8. Van Buren
2 v. 7, April 22, 5:00 p.m., Southside defeats Bentonville 5 to 1.
1 v. 8, April 22, 7:30 p.m., Russellville defeats Van Buren 9 to 0.
4 v. 5, April 23, 5:00 p.m., Rogers defeats Springdale in shootout.
3 v. 6, April 23, 7:30 p.m., Fayetteville defeats Northside 5 to 0.
Southside v. Fayetteville, April 24, 5:00 p.m., Fayetteville defeated Southside in shootout.
Russellville v. Rogers, April 24, 7:30 p.m., Rogers defeated Russellville
Girls Championship, Fayetteville v. Rogers, April 25, 5:00 p.m., Rogers defeats Fayetteville, but Fayetteville gets just what it wanted--second place.
Region 2 (Central) 5A - North Little Rock
BOYS
#1. Conway
#2. North Little Rock
#3. Central
#4. Hall
#5. Catholic
#6. Parkview
#3 v. #6 April 20, 12:30 Central dominated Parkview winning 7-0.
#4 v. #5 April 20, 10:30 Catholic scored in the first 2 minutes and scored 4 in the first half. Catholic defeated Hall 4-1.
North Little Rock v. Central, April 22, 7:30, North Little Rock finally came to the form I have been looking for all year and the Wildcats totally dominated Central, easily winning 4 to 1.
Conway v. Catholic, April 22, 3:30, Conway struck first but Catholic came back on a penalty kick and then won the shootout; Catholic wins 2 to 1.
Boys Final, North Little Rock v. Catholic, April 23, 6:30, NLR was leading 2 to 0 at half time, but Catholic battled back to tie the game before it ended. NLR won shootout after 7 shooters.
GIRLS
#1. Central
#2. Conway
#3. MSM
#4. NLR
#5. Hall
#4 v. #5, April 20, North Little Rock defeated Hall 4 to 0.
Central v. North Little Rock, April 22 at 1:30, Central wins 6 to 0.
Conway v. Mount Saint Mary, April 22 at 5:30, Mount Saint Mary wins 1 to 0 on a pretty goal of a cross.
Girls Final, Central v. Mount Saint Mary, April 23 at 4:30, Central wins easily 4 to 0. Game was over at halftime.
Region 3 (East) 5A - Cabot
Boys
#1 Jonesboro
#2 Cabot
#3 Mountain Home
#4 Sylvan Hills
#5 Jacksonville
#6 LR Mills
#4 v. #5 April 20 at 4:30, Sylvan Hills defeated Jacksonville, 7 to 2
#3 v. #6 April 20 at 10:30, Mountain Home defeated Mills 3-1
Jonesboro v. Sylvan Hills, April 22 at 1:00, Jonesboro defeats Sylvan Hills 2 to 0.
Cabot v. Mountain Home, April 22 at 6:30, Mountain Home defeats Cabot 4 to 1.
Boys Final, Jonesboro v. Mountain Home, April 24 at 7:30, Jonesboro defeated Mountain Hom 4 to 0.
Girls
#1 Cabot
#2 Mountain Home
#3 LR Mills
#4 Jonesboro
#5 Jacksonville
#6 Sylvan Hills
#4 v. #5 April 20 at 2:30, Jonesboro defeated Jacksonville 10 to 0.
#3 v. #6 April 20 at 12:30, LR Mills defeated Sylvan Hills 6 to 0.
Cabot v. Jonesboro, April 22 at 11:00, Cabot defeated Jonesboro in shootout.
Mountain Home v. LR Mills, April 22 at 4:30, Mountain Home defeats Mills 7 to 0.
Girls Final, Cabot v. Mountain Home, April 24 at 5:30, Mountain Home defeated Cabot 2 to 0.
Region 4 (South) 5A - Benton
Boys
#1. Texarkana
#2. El Dorado
#3. Bryant
#4. Benton
#5. Lake Hamilton
#6. Sheridan
#7. Camden-Fairview
#3 v. #6 April 20, 8:00 am, Bryant defeated Sheridan 8 to 0
#4 v. #5 April 20, 12:00, Lake Hamilton defeated Benton 3 to 1
#2 v. #7 April 20, 4:00, El Dorado defeated Camden-Fairview 8 to 1
Texarkana v. Lake Hamilton, April 22, 6:30 pm, Texarkana defeats Lake Hamilton 3 to 0.
El Dorado v. Bryant, April 23, 4:30 pm, El Dorado defeats Bryant 3 to 2.
Boys Final, Texarkana v. El Dorado, April 24 6:30 pm, Texarkana defeated El Dorado in shootout.
Girls
#1. Bryant
#2. El Dorado
#3. Texarkana
#4. Lake Hamilton
#5. Benton
#6. Sheridan
Benton defeated Lake Hamilton 2 to 0.
Texarkana defeated Sheridan 8-0.
El Dorado v. Texarkana, April 22, 4:30, El Dorado defeats Texarkana 5 to 2.
Bryant v. Benton, April 23, 6:30, Bryant defeats Benton 3 to 1
Girls Final, El Dorado v. Bryant, April 24, Bryant defeated El Dorado 2 to 0.
Region 1 (West) 4A - Harrison
Boys
#1. Harrison
#2. Subiaco
#3. Clarksville
#4. Greenwood
#5. Berryville
#6. Siloam Springs
#7. Eureka Springs
#8. Ozark
#9. Mena
#10. Dardanelle
#11. Flippin
6 v. 11, April 20, 11:00, Siloam Springs defeated Flippin 15 to 0.
7 v. 10, April 20, 1:00, Dardanelle defeated Eureka Springs 3-1. In this matchup the 10 team defeated the 7 team.
8 v. 9, April 20, 7:00, Mena defeated Ozark 2-0. In this matchup the 9 team defeated the 8 team.
Harrison v. Mena, April 22, 7:00, Harrison defeated Mena 6 to 0.
Greenwood v. Berryville, April 22, 5:00, Greenwood defeated Berryville 4 to 0.
Subiaco v. Dardanelle, April 22, 3:00, Subiaco defeated Dardanelle 11 to 0.
Clarksville v. Siloam Springs, April 22, 1:00, Clarksville defeated Siloam Springs 2 to 1.
Subiaco v. Clarksville, April 23, 1:00, Subiaco defeated Clarksville 6 to 1.
Greenwood v. Harrison, April 23, 5:00, Harrison defeated Greenwood 5 to 0.
Final, Subiaco v. Harrison, April 25, 7:00
Girls
#1. Harrison
#2. Greenwood
#3. Mena
#4. Siloam Springs
#5. Ozark
#6. Berryville
#7. Clarksville
2 v. 7, April 20, 9:00 am, Greenwood defeated Clarksville 4 to 1.
3 v. 6, April 20, 5:00, Mena defeated Berryville 4 to 3
4 v. 5, April 20, 3:00, Siloam Springs defeated Ozark 6 to 0.
Greenwood v. Mena, April 23, 3:00, Greenwood defeated Mena 4 to 1.
Siloam Springs v. Harrison, April 23, 7:00, Harrison defeated Siloam Springs 8 to 0.
Final, Greenwood v. Harrison, April 25, 5:00
Region 2 (Central) 4A - Arkansas Baptist
Boys:
1. Oak Grove
2. CAC
3. LR Christian
4. Pulaski Academy
5. Arkansas Baptist
6. St. Joseph
7. North Pulaski
8. Greenbrier
9. JA Fair
10. Lutheran
11. Morrilton
12. Cathedral
5 v. 12, April 19, 4:00, Arkansas Baptist defeated LR Cathedral 8 to 0.
8 v. 9, April 19, 6:00, Greenbrier defeated JA Fair 4 to 1.
Pulaski Academy v. Arkansas Baptist, April 20, 9:00 am, Pulaski Academy defeated Arkansas Baptist 2 to 0.
St. Joseph v. Morrilton, April 20, 3:00, St. Joseph defeated Morrilton 3 to 1.
North Pulaksi v. Lutheran, April 20, 5:00, North Pulaski defeated Lutheran 8 to 1.
Oak Grove v. Greenbrier, April 20, 7:00, Oak Grove defeated Greenbrier 5 to 0.
LR Christian v. St. Joseph, April 22, 4:00, LR Christian defeated St. Joseph 3 to 2.
CAC v. North Pulaski, April 22, 6:00, CAC defeated North Pulaski 6 to 1.
Oak Grove v. Pulaski Academy, April 22, 8:00, Pulaski Academy defeated Oak Grove 4 to 1 and advances to final.
CAC v. LR Christian, April 23, CAC defeated LR Christian 2 to 1.
Boys Final, Pulaski Academy v. CAC, April 24, 8:00, Pulaski Academy defeated CAC 5 to 0.
Girls:
1. Pulaski Academy
2. Oak Grove
3. CAC
4. Arkansas Baptist
5. Green Brier
6. LR Christian
7. North Pulaski
8. Morrilton
1 v. 8, April 19, 8:00 pm, Pulaski Academy defeated Morrilton 4 to 1.
2 v. 7, April 20, 2:00 pm, Oak Grove defeated North Pulaski 6 to 1.
3 v. 6, April 20, 11:00 am, CAC defeated LR Christian 7 to 0.
4 v. 5, April 22, 1:00 pm, Arkansas Baptist defeated Greenbrier 5 to 1.
Pulaski Academy v. Arkansas Baptist, April 23, 4:00 pm, Pulaski Academy defeated Arkansas Baptist 3 to 2
Oak Grove v. CAC, April 23, 6:00 pm, CAC defeated Oak Grove in shootout after game ended tied 1 to 1.
Girls Final, Pulaski Academy v. CAC, April 24, 6:00 pm , CAC defeated Pulaski Academy 3 to 1.
Region 3 (East) 4A - Searcy
Boys:
1. Searcy
2. Paragould
3. Green Co. Tech
4. Batesville
5. Valley View
6. Crowley's Ridge Ac.
7. Southside Batesville
4 v. 5, April 20, 1:00, Batesville defeated Valley View 6 to 2
2 v. 7, April 20, 3:00, Paragould defeated Southside Batesville 6 to 2.
3 v. 6, April 20, 5:00, Green County Tech defeated Crowley's Ridge, but I don't know score.
Paragould v. Green County Tech, April 22, 6:00, Green County Tech defeated Paragould 3 to 0.
Searcy v. Batesville, April 22, 8:00, Searcy defeated Batesville 7 to 0.
Boys Final, Green County Tech v. Searcy, April 23, 6:00, Searcy defeated Green County Tech 7 to 0.
Girls:
1. Searcy
2. Batesville
Searcy and Batesville will advance to the State Tournament automatically. Championship game is tonight. Searcy defeated Batesville 11 to 0.
Region 4 (South) 4A - Hot Springs
Boys
#1. Lakeside
#2. Hot Springs
#3. Arkadelphia
#4. Hope
#5. Westside Christian
#6. Stuttgart
#4 v. #5, April 20, 12:30, Hope defeated West Side Christian 2 to 1. Hope lead at halftime 2 to 0; Juan Bautista scored one goal and assisted on the other. Ken Blackwells scored the lone goal for West Side Christian.
#3 v. #6, April 20, 4:30, Arkadelphia defeated Stuttgart 4 to 0. The game was still close at the end of the first half with Arkadelphia leading only 1 to 0, but then they blew it wide open in the second half.
No Surprised in the semi-final match-ups.
Lakeside v. Hope, April 22, 3:00, Lakeside defeated Hope 6 to 2
Hot Springs v. Arkadelphia, April 22, 5:00, Arkadelphia defeated Hot Springs 2 to 1
Boys Final, Lakeside v. Arkadelphia, April 23, 5:00; Lakeside and Arkadelphia tied 2 to 2 at the end of regulation, Lakeside won shootout.
Girls
#1 Hot Springs
#2 Arkadelphia
#3 Lakeside
#2 v. #3, April 20, 2:30, Lakeside defeated Arkadelphia 3 to 2. Kate Murphy scored on a 35 yard lob 24:48 into the second half to lift Lakeside to a 3-2 upset of Arkadelphia. I think Arkadelphia defeated Lakeside when they played during the regular season.
Girls Final, Hot Springs v. Lakeside, April 23, 3:30
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