FAYETTEVILLE -- Central Arkansas Christian's state championship drought is over.
The Mustangs won their second state championship with a 2-1 victory over Danville on Friday in the Class 4A boys soccer final at Razorback Field.
It was CAC's first title since 2008. The Mustangs lost in the Class 4A final the past two seasons, falling to Green Forest last year and to Valley View in 2013
"We've been here many times," said Coach Fabian Mina, who has guided the Mustangs to both of their state titles. "This is my third year in a row. Finally, we finished it."
Junior midfielder Joshua Kim and sophomore center fullback Zachery Otwell scored for CAC (17-2-1), which lost to Little Rock Catholic and Greenbrier and tied Little Rock Christian during the regular season. The Mustangs won the 4A-2 Conference and beat Subiaco Academy, Hamburg and Dardanelle at the state tournament in Maumelle.
Senior forward Irvin Rodriguez scored for Danville (15-2-1), a Class 3A school that is playing in Class 4A in soccer since it is the smallest classification available. The school is in its third year of fielding a soccer program.
Danville was a No. 2 seed from the 4A-1 Conference and beat Arkadelphia and two top seeds, Crowley's Ridge and Warren, to reach its first state final.
Kim scored the game's first goal in the 18th minute to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
Danville had a chance to tie the match before halftime. Junior midfielder Christopher Facio found senior forward Raine Cook, but Cook's shot was stopped by CAC goalie Caden Miller to keep the match 1-0.
CAC made it 2-0 in the 61st minute. Otwell scored off freshman striker Alex Mina's rebound from 15 yards out past Danville goalie Kleimer Hernandez.
Danville pulled to within 2-1 in the 67th minute on a header by Rodriguez, who put it past Miller.
The Little Johns had 12 shots on goal in the second half but managed only one goal against Miller, who made 18 saves.
"They have a pretty good team," Fabian Mina said. "You have to play all the way to the last minute. There's no winning the game yet. So, you have to go all the way until the referee blows the whistle."
Danville Coach Matthew Goode credited CAC's defensive pressure for the Little Johns' struggles for most of the match.
"Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn't," Goode said. "You get frustrated and it's tough. They did everything they could."
Goode took over as Danville's coach this season but is leaving the school to pursue other opportunities.
"It's been a really fun ride with these kids," Goode said. "They're the ones driving the bus."
Sports on 05/23/2015