SILOAM SPRINGS -- The Prairie Grove High School girl's and boy's soccer clubs hit the road April 1 to face a pair of seasoned Siloam Springs Panther squads.
In the opener the Lady Tigers dropped a 3-1 contest, while in the nightcap the Tiger boys eked out a close 1-0 victory over the host Panthers.
Girls- Siloam Springs 3, Prairie Grove 1
In the first half the Lady Tigers (1-2-2) aggressively attacked the Panther's defense, spending the majority of the half on Siloam Springs' side of the pitch, as well as firing six quality shots at the Panthers' goal. None of the salvos fired were able to find their mark, and the score remained 0-0 after one half of play.
All the energy expended in the opening half took its toll on the Lady Tigers who had to watch as a more energized Panther team opened a 2-0 lead after scoring a goal at the 30:15 mark and then again four minutes later when a shot went in-and-out of the hands of Tiger goalkeeper Marie Gregson.
Prairie Grove finally got on the board and cut the deficit in half with a penalty kick goal at the 22:00 mark. Prairie Grove's Kaley Hassell successfully dribbled through the Panther's defense with only the goalkeeper to beat, but was fouled before getting off a shot. Hassell rocketed her penalty kick past the Panther keeper, making the score 2-1. The Panthers countered with a goal less than eight minutes later, bringing the final score to 3-1.
"We had lot of opportunities in the first half, we just didn't finish," said Lady Tigers' coach Darren Chandler. "We did do a lot of good stuff as far as spacing, communications and moving the ball around."
Boys - Prairie Grove 1, Siloam Springs 0
Prairie Grove was able to salvage a split with Siloam when the boys claimed a 1-0 victory in the night's finale.
"I told our guys that we are playing a lot better," said Tigers' coach Craig Laird. "We are playing more physical, and I feel if we had played this way at the beginning of the season we'd be undefeated."
The Tigers (3-1) and the Panthers engaged in a defensive deadlock for most of the first half, with Prairie Grove unable to capitalize on a couple of scoring opportunities. With 6:32 left in the first half Prairie Grove's Cole Stewart blasted a shot from 20 yards out that went through the Panther keeper's hands, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
In the second half Siloam Springs tested Tiger goalie Blake Faulk numerous times, however Faulk turned away all comers, sometimes sacrificing his body in traffic to corral the loose soccer ball. "That is a football player playing soccer. Blake is athletic and fearless and will sacrifice his body to make a play," said Laird concerning the play of his goal-keeper.
Sports on 04/16/2014