Jumping Jack Frost

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Prairie Grove sophomore Blake Hickman battles a Lincoln player for control of the ball while Tiger teammates Cade Walker (left) and Luke Mitchell move in to help. Prairie Grove defeated Lincoln's junior varsity squad 2-1 in the school's first-ever high school boys soccer match on Tuesday, March 6.
MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Prairie Grove sophomore Blake Hickman battles a Lincoln player for control of the ball while Tiger teammates Cade Walker (left) and Luke Mitchell move in to help. Prairie Grove defeated Lincoln's junior varsity squad 2-1 in the school's first-ever high school boys soccer match on Tuesday, March 6.

PRAIRIE GROVE -- Jack Frost nipped at the toes and temperatures had fallen to 39 degrees by the time Prairie Grove's boys soccer team defeated Lincoln 2-1 on Tuesday, March 6.

And that didn't take into account the wind-chill factor from a strong breeze with gusts increasing as the match wore on.

"It definitely makes a difference," said Prairie Grove coach Darren Chandler. "I felt like the guys out there for both teams were doing their best to ignore it. They were moving around trying to stay warm. They didn't have their hands in their pockets while trying to kick the ball. That's what I don't want to see. It's tough in the wind and the cold."

Prairie Grove got goals in the first half from sophomore Francisco Estrada and junior Brandon LeDuc to open up a 2-0 lead. Lincoln, playing a junior varsity schedule in the first season having declared soccer as a competitive sport, cut the deficit in half when junior Benjamin Kunz, a foreign-exchange student from Germany, scored on a penalty kick at the 23:19 mark of the second half.

Kunz, one of two foreign-exchange students on Lincoln's roster, plays an attacking middle position. The other, Jihwoan Shin, is also a junior. He is from South Korea and plays a holding middle position.

From that juncture the Wolves earnestly sought opportunities to create another goal in hopes of tying the game. Prairie Grove had to work to maintain the lead with the Tigers looking for an insurance goal.

Lincoln's goalie stopped a shot at the 12:44 mark. Three minutes later the Wolves were able to reverse the scenario, but Prairie Grove broke up a kick into the middle of the penalty area. With just over six minutes remaining Lincoln appeared to have a 2-on-1 attack poised in the penalty area, but a violation negated a chance to score and Prairie Grove kicked the ball away. Lincoln managed one more potential scoring venture into Tiger territory, but the Prairie Grove goalkeeper stopped a shot with 3:44 to play.

Lincoln coach Emilianne Slamons was thrilled with the Wolves' performance against a more-experienced Prairie Grove team that competes at the varsity level, especially missing Yue Phen Lee.

"Losing 2-1 in our first ever boys junior varsity soccer match, I'm ecstatic," said Slamons, who also coaches the Lincoln girls soccer team. "It was a great first match. I'm very pleased with both teams. That's the best I could ask for."

Sports on 03/14/2018