More accolades for SSHS soccer

It was a whirlwind month of May for soccer fans in Siloam Springs.

The month began with the Panthers and Lady Panthers playing in the 6A-West Conference Tournament, which they both won.

The middle of the month saw the soccer teams roll through the Class 6A State Tournament here in town and win state championships once again -- the second straight and fourth overall for the boys and the fourth straight for the girls.

The end of the month saw both teams celebrating their seasons with postseason banquets, which were highlighted with photos in this past Wednesday's Herald-Leader.

But the celebrations aren't quite over yet.

If you flip over to today's Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, you'll find a spread dedicated to our All-NWADG teams in baseball, softball and soccer.

Our very own Audrey Maxwell, junior forward for the Lady Panthers, is the 2017 All-NWADG Girls Soccer Player of the Year after scoring a school-record 42 goals and registering 18 assists. She is joined on the girls' team by junior teammate Megan Hutto, who had a dang great season in her own right with 25 goals and a school-record 22 assists.

On the boys' side, super-talented sophomore Christian Marroquin is the Boys Soccer Newcomer of the Year after scoring a team-high 20 goals and passing out a team-high 12 assists. Senior midfielder and captain Austin Shull is on the boys' team after scoring six goals, recording 10 assists and really being a strong leader for a young Panthers team that did a lot of growing up over the course of the season.

These are the individuals who are honored in today's NWADG and we will run the same spread in the Herald-Leader on Wednesday.

And as great as the season was for these kids, they aren't the only ones who deserve recognition at the regional level.

I can think of several other Siloam Springs players who would have been worthy selections to also be a part of these teams. Head soccer coach Brent Crenshaw is certainly worthy of being honored as Coach of the Year for boys or girls.

Soccer is getting better and better in Northwest Arkansas, and you can take one look at our all-area teams and see that the bulk of them are dominated by schools along the I-49 corridor.

And the fun doesn't stop here. There are more recognitions -- including some at the state level -- to come in the next few weeks, along with all-star games and before we know it, June will have turned into July.

The month of May flew by. It was an exciting time to be a soccer fan in Siloam Springs for sure, and by the looks of things, we'll get to do it all over again next year.

-- Graham Thomas is the managing editor for the Herald-Leader. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Sports on 06/03/2017