SPRINGDALE -- One goal was all that separated Bentonville and Springdale Har-Ber Friday night.
Hector Sanabria scored in the first half and Bentonville held on for a 1-0 victory in 7A-West Conference action at Wildcat Stadium. It was another close defeat by Har-Ber (6-9, 4-6), which fell 2-1 to Springdale Tuesday on a goal by freshman Jose Vega with just more than nine minutes to play.
Har-Ber could've been leading Bentonville at halftime, but the Wildcats instead trailed 1-0. Jose Serrano missed to the right on a penalty kick in front of the Bentonville goal. Jesus Zizumbo also missed to the right at an empty net when the Bentonville goalie was out of position.
Hector Sanabria did not miss his opportunity, and that was the difference in the game. Sanabria beat a defender for the ball, pivoted then sent a line drive into the corner of the Har-Ber net to put Bentonville ahead 1-0 with 27:51 left in the first half.
That was all Bentonville (12-2-1, 8-2) needed to move into a tie for first place with Springdale High in the conference standings. The Tigers beat Fort Smith Northside 2-1 on Tuesday.
"The goal by Sanabria was terrific then we stopped playing," Bentonville coach Mike Devaney said. "The last 20 minutes of the first half, they fashioned more chances than we did. In the second half, we had three or four terrific opportunities and squandered them."
Bentonville got some offense going in the second half and won most of the contested balls. But the Tigers could not put another kick past Har-Ber goalie Jonathan Sandoval. Sanabria had an excellent opportunity from a few yards away, but Sandoval jumped high and knocked the ball away.
Minutes later, Sandoval raced from the net and broke up a two-on-one advantage by the Tigers. He also stopped a free kick to keep Har-Ber within one goal of tying the game.
"Both teams had lots of chances," Har-Ber coach Cory Butler said. "If we would've converted some, it could have been a different outcome. But at the same time, they had a few chances where they could've put the game away."
GIRLS
BENTONVILLE 3, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 0
Alyssa Carlson scored two goals and Lauren Holly one to lead Bentonville past Har-Ber (4-8, 4-6).
Carlson scored twice in the first half for Bentonville (13-4, 10-0), which remained undefeated in conference play.
Sports on 04/23/2016