SPRINGDALE --Bentonville got its revenge to spoil Senior Night for Springdale Har-Ber.
Jose Castro, Josh Hylton, and Zack Estrada scored goals in the second half to give Bentonville a 3-0 victory over Har-Ber Tuesday in 7A-West Conference action at Wildcat Stadium. The game was the first between the teams since April 10, when Har-Ber won 2-0 to end Bentonville's 26-match win streak.
Bentonville (13-2, 10-2 7A-West) had almost all of the scoring chances in the first half but still couldn't get anything past goalie Fredy Mendez, who shut the Tigers out in the first meeting. That changed when Castro took an inbound pass and scored with 31 minutes left in the game. Hylton followed with a goal a short time later then Zack Estrada padded the lead to put the Tigers ahead 3-0 with 20 minutes left in the game.
"I was wondering what we needed to do to score against (Mendez)," Bentonville coach Mike Devaney said. "But the first goal was important. I felt if we got one, we'd get another, and that's exactly what happened."
Springdale Har-Ber (8-8, 6-7) had few scoring opportunities after Raul Umana scored twice in the game at Bentonville.
Estrada had two chances on one possession in the first half. His first attempt near the goal was blocked by Mendez and his header off the rebound was knocked away by a Har-Ber defender. Mendez stopped a header by Castro with 5:47 left in the first half and a 25-foot attempt by Wyatt D'Spain with 23:48 left hit the goal post with Mendez diving to his left to protect.
Girls
Bentonville 2, Har-Ber 1
Lauren Hargus and McKenzie Dixon scored goals for Bentonville, which clinched the 7A-West Conference championship with its win over Har-Ber.
The victory kept Bentonville (17-4, 13-0) unbeaten in the conference with only a league game against Fayetteville left to play.
Most of Tuesday's action came in quick succession in the first half when three goals were scored. Hargus opened the scoring with 22 minutes left followed by a goal from McKenzie Dixon with 19:50 left before halftime. Elise Reina scored a minute later for Har-Ber, which was fortunate to be down only 2-1 at halftime.
Bentonville had at least three more chances to extend its lead, including a shot by Dixon in front of the goal, but Madeline Slaton made the save.
"With the wind conditions, we knew we had to score early because opportunities were going to be few and far between," Bentonville coach Kris Henry said. "It took some pressure off to get those two goals and, thankfully, that's all we needed."
Har-Ber (11-5, 8-4) had the better scoring opportunities in the second half. Kianna Rutledge's shot near the goal with 13:40 left went wide left while she was being pressured by a Bentonville defender. The Lady Wildcats had two more opportunities on one possession with just over three minutes left but again failed to convert.
Sports on 05/06/2015