Not only did Prairie Grove's boys soccer team make it to state in only the second season of fielding a team, the Tigers won a match to be among the final eight Class 4A teams left standing.
Prairie Grove (13-4) defeated Jacksonville Lighthouse 1-0 before losing to Mena in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A State Tournament in Harrison on May 13.
Mena, the No. 1 seed from the 4A-2, defeated Cossatot Rover 2-1 in the semifinals and will play Dardanelle, the No. 1 seed from the 4A-1, in Saturday's state championship match at Razorback Field in Fayetteville.
Junior midfielder Andres Barrett's early second half goal lifted the Tigers to victory over the Wolves (10-6-3) in the first round of the Class 4A State Tournament in Harrison.
"It is amazing," said Tigers coach Darren Chandler. "I was telling the guys that I really feel like they deserve this ... I wanted this so bad for these guys that I could barely keep it in. It was tough, but I'm so proud of them."
Chandler said his team got several shots on goal that were stopped by a stingy Jacksonville Lighthouse goalkeeper.
"They didn't get a lot of shots on goal on us, though," Chandler said. "There wasn't much need for our keeper to make a bunch of spectacular saves because they didn't get the ball back there that much."
Chandler has been nominated as a potential coach at this summer's All-Star match.
Tigers assistant coach Kristen Walker is credited with bringing soccer to Prairie Grove High.
Sports on 05/18/2016