2017 All NWADG Soccer Honorees

GIRLS

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All NWADG Girls Soccer Team

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette selected its All-NWADG baseball team. Below are the teams, player of the year, newcomer of the year, coach of the year and a gallery of the players highlighted. All content was compiled by the NWADG sports staff.

Player of the Year

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Siloam Springs’ Audrey Maxwell is the All-Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

Audrey Maxwell

SCHOOL Siloam Springs

CLASS Junior

HEIGHT 5-7

THE SCOOP Maxwell set the Siloam Springs girls soccer single-season scoring record with 42 goals in leading the Lady Panthers (24-3) to their fourth straight state championship. … She scored at least one goal in 24 of team’s 27 games. … She had 13 multiple-goal games, including one four-goal game and four three-goal games. … Her final hat trick came in the Class 6A state finals in a 6-1 win against Russellville, where she earned MVP honors for the second straight year. … She also had 18 assists, which ranked second on the team. … Maxwell, a 6A all-state selection, has verbally committed to Rogers State, a Division II school in Claremore, Okla.

DID YOU KNOW Maxwell broke the single-season goals school record of her mentor, former Siloam Springs standout Sarah Kidd Viatrov, who scored 27 goals during the 2006 season. Maxwell’s 18 assists also tied Viatrov’s then single-season record for assists set in 2007, but Maxwell’s classmate Megan Hutto had 22 assists this year for the current record.

QUOTABLE “It’s been an amazing season,” Maxwell said. “I had so much fun this year with all the girls and coaches. We broke barriers together and I’m so thankful to be a part of Siloam soccer. Breaking a scoring record that stood for 10 years was a highlight of the season, being awarded a championship MVP two years in a row was an honor.”

— Graham Thomas • @NWAGraham

Newcomer of the Year

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Fayetteville’s Georgia Templeton is the All-Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Girls Soccer Newcomer of the Year.

Georgia Templeton

SCHOOL Fayetteville

CLASS Freshman

HEIGHT 5-5

THE SCOOP Left-footed kicker finished with 11 goals and five assists. … Recorded first varsity hat trick at Van Buren in regular season finale. … Said goal is to win a state championship and believes the Lady Bulldogs have enough young talent returning to make it happen. … Plays club soccer for the Arkansas Comets. … Born in Little Rock and moved to Fayetteville when she was 2. … Also plays basketball. … Enjoys camping and the outdoors.

DID YOU KNOW Despite mostly lining up as a midfielder during her soccer career, which began when she was 4-years old, Templeton learned a variety of positions by playing midfielder, forward and defender this season.

QUOTABLE “I went seventh and it was kind of scary, but we practice PKs after practice, so I think I was prepared,” Templeton said of her winning goal in a 4-3 shootout victory over Little Rock Central in the 7A state quarterfinals. “I was nervous because I’m young and just nervous all the time. I just had to take a deep breath and just do it. You’re supposed to know where you’re going to kick it before you go up there and I told my teammates on the sideline, so I wouldn’t change my mind, then I just went up and kicked it in to the outside, to the left.”

— Mike Capshaw • @nwacappy

Coach of the Year

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Bentonville High’s Kris Henry is the All-Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.

Kristina Henry

SCHOOL Bentonville High

THE SCOOP Henry guided the Lady Tigers to a 23-2 overall record, including their second straight Class 7A state championship with a 4-0 victory over Cabot in the championship match. … Bentonville went a perfect 14-0 in 7A-West Conference play, outscoring its opponents by a 75-3 margin. … The Lady Tigers’ only two losses came against out-of-state teams.

DID YOU KNOW Bentonville has now won five of the last six Class 7A state titles and eight state championships in the last 11 years under Henry’s guidance.

QUOTABLE “I truly felt coming into this year it was going to be rebuilding because you’re graduating kids and moving kids to different positions,” Henry said. “I think the focus was trying to replace who was going to score the goals, what the attack was going to look like and what the defense was going to look like. It was having to replace both lines and seeing the best role for everybody. If we could solve those problems, I thought we would be in good shape for conference play. Although Lauren Hargus scored a lot of goals, we had a number of players that were scoring goals and that was a new look for us.”

— Henry Apple • @NWAHenry

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All NWADG Boys Soccer Team

BOYS

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette selected its All-NWADG baseball team. Below are the teams, player of the year, newcomer of the year, coach of the year and a gallery of the players highlighted. All content was compiled by the NWADG sports staff.

Player of the Year

Jesus Zizumbo

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Springdale Har-Ber’s Jesus Zizumbo is the All-Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

SCHOOL Springdale Har-Ber

CLASS Junior

HEIGHT 5-10

POSITION Center-Mid

THE SCOOP Zizumbo led the Wildcats to their first conference championship since 2013 behind his 12-goal season. … Scored scored the match-winning goal against Rogers Heritage during conference play with just 18 seconds remaining in regulation. … His play helped Har-Ber reach a No. 5 in MaxPreps’ national soccer rankings, 18 wins and the school’s second-ever state championship match appearance. … After missing the Wildcats’ quarterfinals match vs. Conway, Zizumbo returned to score the first goal of the state semifinal match against rival Springdale High and again in the state finals vs. Rogers High to give Har-Ber a 3-1 first-half lead.

DID YOU KNOW Zizumbo made a name for himself on the soccer field as a junior after scoring just five goals his sophomore year. As Har-Ber’s placekicker on the football team, he connected on all 42 PATs as a junior and was 6-of-8 on field goals with a long of 51 yards against Springdale High. Thirty-seven of his 66 kickoffs last season were touchbacks.

QUOTABLE “We just needed one more win, but we’ll take the momentum from this year into next year,” Zizumbo said. “We were playing strong (in the first half) and making less mistakes than Rogers, and were playing better. I guess we slowed down and didn’t realize 3-1 wasn’t a good enough lead. I can’t wait for senior year, I’ll tell you that. I can’t wait.”

— Scotie Bordelon • @nwascottie

Newcomer of the Year

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Siloam Springs’ Christian Marroquin is the All-Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Boys Soccer Newcomer of the Year.

Christian Marroquin

SCHOOL Siloam Springs

CLASS Sophomore

HEIGHT 5-9

THE SCOOP Marroquin led the Panthers with 20 goals and 12 assists. … He scored four goals in the Class 6A state tournament, including a goal and an assist in the Panthers’ 4-0 win over Mountain Home in the state finals. … He scored at least one goal in 17 of the Panthers’ 27 games. He had three multiple-goal games. … He was an all-state selection in Class 6A.

DID YOU KNOW After every game, win or lose and before shaking anyone’s hand, Marroquin — a devout Christian — falls to his knees in prayer. “I try to use every game as an opportunity to witness,” Marroquin said. “When I step on the field, people should know who I represent, who I believe in. I just like to thank God for giving me the opportunity to play such a beautiful sport, regardless of the final score.”

QUOTABLE “It mean a lot because no one gave us a chance,” Marroquin said of winning the 6A state championship. “No one believed in us because of how many seniors we graduated last year. It was hard taking that huge (scoring) responsibility as a sophomore. My freshman year, I didn’t play a second in the final and after that game I promised myself I was going to go back someday to the Razorback Field as a starter and win state, and I did.

“But it’s all because of my teammates. They were always there. That’s what makes this season so amazing, because of how hard it was to win the championship.”

— Graham Thomas • @NWAGraham

Coach of the Year

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Springdale Har-Ber’s Cory Butler is the All-Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Boys Soccer Coach the Year.

Cory Butler

SCHOOL Springdale Har-Ber

THE SCOOP Butler, in his third year in charge of Har-Ber boys soccer, led the program to its second 7A-West conference championship. … Har-Ber surpassed last season’s win total (11) by seven games this year and avenged a 2016 state semifinal loss to Springdale High with a 3-1 win in this year’s state semifinal in Fort Smith. … Butler coached the Wildcats to a 10-match winning streak that included four wins in a three-day stretch en route to a Tulsa (Okla.) Bishop Kelley Invitational title.

DID YOU KNOW He also lead his club to national notoriety as Har-Ber was recognized by MaxPreps as the No. 5 team in the nation on April 20. The Wildcats moved from No. 23 to No. 5 in a 10-day span and, at season’s end, Har-Ber was ranked 13th by the site’s metrics.

QUOTABLE “Overall, it was a good season. We won a lot of games and beat some teams that were good teams,” Butler said. “Winning a conference championship and making it to state, it was a good season. (Next year) we have a bunch of young guys who will hopefully step up and help the guys who are returning.”

— Scottie Bordelon • @nwascottie

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