SPRINGDALE -- Soft-spoken and quiet, Nelson Barroso doesn't seek attention on the soccer field as the more flamboyant players do.
He doesn't celebrate goals by ripping off his Springdale High jersey or sprinting down the field with arms upraised. Barroso keeps his emotions in check, preferring to remain on an even keel, never too high, never too low.
Boys State Soccer Schedule
Class 6A
At Conway
Today
Match 2 W4 Van Buren vs. C5 FS Southside, 10 a.m.
Match 4 C3 LR Catholic vs. W6 Bentonville West, noon
Match 6 C4 Conway vs. W5 Springdale Har-Ber, 2 p.m.
Match 8 W3 Bentonville High vs. C6 Cabot, 4 p.m.
Friday
Match 9 C1 Bryant vs. Winner Match 2, 10 a.m.
Match 10 W2 Rogers High vs. Winner Match 4, noon
Match 11 W1 Springdale High vs. Winner Match 6, 2 p.m.
Match 12 C2 FS Northside vs. Winner Match 8, 4 p.m.
Saturday
Match 13 Winer Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10, noon
Match 14 Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 12, 4 p.m.
*Winners of Matches 13 and 14 advance to state championship
Class 5A
At Searcy
Today
Match 1 E1 Mountain Home vs. S4 El Dorado, noon (F1 Devore)
Match 2 W2 LR Christian vs. C3 Maumelle, noon (F2 Devore)
Match 3 S1 Lakeside vs. E4 Nettleton, 4 p.m. (Lion Stadium)
Match 4 C2 LR Hall vs. W3 Siloam Springs, 4 p.m. (F2 Devore)
Match 5 C1 Sylvan Hills vs. W4 Greenbrier, noon (F3 Devore)
Match 6 S2 Hot Springs vs. E3 Searcy, noon (Lion Stadium)
Match 7 W1 Russellville vs. C4 White Hall, 4 p.m. (F3 Devore)
Match 8 E2 Jonesboro vs. S3 Benton, 4 p.m. (F1 Devore)
Friday
Match 9 Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, noon (F1 Devore)
Match 10 Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, noon (F2 Devore)
Match 11 Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, noon (Lion Stadium)
Match 12 Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8, noon (F3 Devore)
Saturday
Match 13 Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10, noon (Lion Stadium)
Match 14 Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 12, 4 p.m. (Lion Stadium)
*Winners of Matches 13 and 14 advance to state championship
Class 4A
At Batesville
Today
Match 1 W1 Harrison vs. N4 Brookland, 11 a.m. (Lyon College)
Match 2 E2 Warren vs. S3 Pulaski Academy, 11 a.m. (Southside HS)
Match 3 N1 Batesville vs. W4 Clarksville, 11 a.m. (Batesville HS)
Match 4 S2 Robinson vs. E3 eStem, 3 p.m. (Lyon College)
Match 5 S1 De Queen vs. E4 Monticello. 3 p.m.
Match 6 N2 Valley View vs. W3 Prairie Grove, 3 p.m. (Southside HS)
Match 7 E1 Hamburg vs. S4 Mena, 5 p.m. (Batesville HS)
Match 8 2W Dardanelle vs. N3 Heber Springs, 7 p.m. (Southside HS)
Friday
Match 9 Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, noon (Lyon College)
Match 10 Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, noon (Southside HS)
Match 11 Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 4 p.m. (Lyon College)
Match 12 Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8, 4 p.m. (Southside HS)
Saturday
All matches at Southside
Match 13 Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10, noon
Match 14 Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 12, 4 p.m.
*Winners of Matches 13 and 14 advance to state championship
Class 3A
At Harrison
Today
Match 1 W1 Green Forest vs. N4 Riverview, 1 p.m.
Match 2 E2 Episcopal vs. S3 Cossatot River, 3 p.m.
Match 3 N1 Harding Academy vs. W4 TBD, 3 p.m.
Match 4 S2 Baptist Prep vs. E3 Lisa Academy, 3 p.m.
Match 5 S1 Gurdon vs. E4 Hermitage, 5 p.m.
Match 6 N2 St. Joseph vs. W3 Eureka Springs, 5 p.m.
Match 7 E1 CAC vs. S4 Danville, 5 p.m.
Match 8 W2 Decatur vs. N3 Conway Christian, 7 p.m.
Friday
Match 9 Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 10 a.m.
Match 10 Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, noon
Match 11 Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 2 p.m.
Match 12 Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8, 4 p.m.
Saturday
All matches at Southside
Match 13 Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10, noon
Match 14 Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 12, 4 p.m.
*Winners of Matches 13 and 14 advance to state championship
Unless you ask him about the way the Bulldogs' soccer season ended last season. Then his demeanor changes.
"To be honest, last year's loss, none of us have gotten over it," Barroso said of the state semifinals loss to Fort Smith Northside. "It didn't seem real at the time, and it still doesn't seem real. But it made us work harder this season, and it made our team become closer.
"We let a lot of people down last year, and that's not something we want to do this year."
Northside, which went on to capture the state championship, scored two late goals to stun the top-ranked Bulldogs 2-1.
The Bulldogs returned a solid nucleus from last year's team, including top scorer Jose Vega and all-state player Danny Maldonado. Springdale rolled through 6A-West play undefeated at 14-0 and the Bulldogs are 15-2 overall heading into this week's state tournament in Conway. Springdale drew a first-round bye and will open play at 2 p.m. Friday.
Barroso did not become a major contributor to the varsity team until last season, Springdale coach D.J. Beeler said.
"As a sophomore, he got pulled up about halfway through the season," Beeler said. "That's one of the things I like about Nelson is that he followed the script in terms of being a freshman and working hard on the junior varsity team, then started performing on the JV team as a sophomore and got moved up and since then, has just continued to get better."
Earlier this year Barroso and Vega signed letters of intent to play soccer in college, with Barroso signing with Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., and Vega signing with Neosho Community College. Maldonado also signed with Crowder College a couple of weeks ago.
Barroso (5-foot-9, 160 pounds) plays what Beeler called "holding" midfielder for Springdale. In layman's terms, Barroso has the flexibility to drop back in defense or move up into an attacking mode.
"One of the things that is so great about Nelson is he is so versatile," Beeler said. "He's one of the more versatile players that I have coached. I could probably play him anywhere on the field outside of goalkeeper."
Winning the 6A-West Conference title was nice, but their job is far from finished, Barroso said.
"Winning conference was a goal, but it wasn't the major goal," he said. "It's part of the goal, but state has always been the bigger goal, and it's something I think we will achieve."
Barroso has scored six goals this season and assisted on another goal, but scoring is not his top priority, he said.
"I like passing the ball and moving it around," Barroso said. "I don't want to be the person who scores all the goals. I want my whole team to be able to score the goals. My job is to move the ball and switch the ball. I like to distribute the ball and start the plays and get everyone involved."
Sports on 05/09/2019