Fayetteville girls down Springdale

Joe Thoma finally saw what he's known his team could do all year. The Fayetteville soccer coach has seen his team score in practice, only to see them struggle to have the same consistency in matches. On Friday, his Lady Bulldogs carried it into a key 7A-West Conference match as they scored five goals en rout to a 5-1 win against league-leading Springdale High at Harmon Stadium. "(Frustration) comes off the last couple of matches where we couldn't find a goal," Thoma said. "It's so frustrating. In practice, we're scoring goals. Sometimes you can't score in practice, and you can score in games. This group scores, and it's just a matter of putting it together." The Lady Bulldogs (9-6, 3-3 7A-West) did just that Friday night, peppering the Springdale keeper with 13 shots on goal. The result was open looks from close range that found the back of the net. "The finishing was exceptional today. We had some quality goals, and we worked hard to get them. That was really on all of us," Thoma said. "We talked about pressuring in their end of the field but also having our girls in the right spaces. Once we got the ball (in the Springdale end) we had people in the right places to get a look and get a finish." As a result, Fayetteville put together a first-half scoring spurt that saw the Lady Bulldogs pull away with three goals in a span of five minutes. Georgia Templeton took a Myra Tubb pass for the match's first goal in the 25th minute. Templeton assisted on the next goal, connecting with Allison Byars for a two-nil lead. Tubb then scored her own goal with 10 minutes 13 seconds remaining in the first half. "We were giving them way too much space in the midfield," Springdale coach DJ Beeler said. "Our inability to close down space, and giving them all of that room, really led to their ability to move the ball and attack. We didn't do a good job of that, and you saw the results."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Fayetteville High School Athletics

FAYETTEVILLE GIRLS DOWN SPRINGDALE

JOSH TINKER

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 4/7/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Goff