n No coin toss this time.

Lady Panthers pick up 3-1 win against Harrison

Graham Thomas/Siloam Sunday Harrison defender Katie Fowler, left, tries to shield Siloam Springs sophomore Shelby Johnson from the ball during the first half of Tuesday's 5A/6A District 1 girls soccer match at Panther Stadium. Siloam Springs defeated Harrison 3-1.
Graham Thomas/Siloam Sunday Harrison defender Katie Fowler, left, tries to shield Siloam Springs sophomore Shelby Johnson from the ball during the first half of Tuesday's 5A/6A District 1 girls soccer match at Panther Stadium. Siloam Springs defeated Harrison 3-1.

There was no coin flip needed this time around to settle a girls soccer match between Harrison and Siloam Springs.

The Lady Panthers scored two first-half goals and got an insurance goal late in the second to hand the Lady Goblins a 3-1 loss in 5A/6A District 1 play on a rainy Tuesday at Panther Stadium.

"We beat a good Harrison team, and anytime we can get a win against a great program in a conference game is a positive for us," said Siloam Springs head coach Brent Crenshaw. "I was proud of the way the girls responded after giving up a goal making it 2-1. They showed a lot of determination to come back from playing flat and scoring to secure the win."

It was the second meeting of the season between the defending 5A and 6A state champions, and the two teams will play again on April 13 at F.S. Garrison Stadium in Harrison.

The first meeting was on March 10 in the ReMax Cup in Harrison with the two teams playing to a 1-1 draw in the championship. According to predetermined tournament rules, any ties were to be settled by a series of tiebreakers, and it came down to the very last tiebreaker, which was a coin flip.

Harrison won the coin flip for the tournament victory.

Playing in a steady light rain on Tuesday, the Lady Panthers gained the upper hand midway through the first half.

Siloam Springs junior Hadley Crenshaw played a ball through to senior forward Megan Hutto, who fired a rocket shot that deflected off Lady Goblins goalkeeper Makayla Campbell.

Lady Panthers sophomore Shelby Johnson corralled the rebound and scored with 24 minutes, 33 seconds left to give the Lady Panthers a 1-0 lead.

A little more than 12 minutes later, Siloam Springs went up 2-0 on the tail end of a set piece.

Laura Morales lofted a cornerkick toward the Harrison goal, and it pinged around the box until Meghan Kennedy put it in with 12:27 left for the two goal lead.

Looking to extend the lead in the second half, the Lady Panthers did the opposite. Harrison's Brylie Parker ripped a 40-yard free kick that went over the head of Siloam Springs goalkeeper Sydney Bomstad, off the crossbar and in for a 2-1 lead. The free kick came after Siloam Springs fouled a Harrison player with 18:50 left in the game.

Crenshaw was disappointed the Lady Panthers let Harrison get back within striking distance.

"It's something we've seen as a trend," Crenshaw said. "They go play really, really well and then go play with no emotions, no drive for 15-20 minutes. They let teams stay in it. They've got to find that killer instinct. If they can find that killer instinct, they're going to be even better."

In the previous meeting with Harrison (6-2-3, 0-1) and in several other games, the Lady Panthers gave up equalizers that should not have happened, Crenshaw said.

"Again we play a lot of soccer so I know at times it's hard to get up for games, but you've got to get up every night and put teams away, and we haven't been doing that when we should," Crenshaw said. "Even (Monday) night against Grove, we kept them in it, 2-0 late in the first half. It should have been 3-0 or 4-0. But I think they'll do that when the time comes.

Siloam Springs responded with 5:59 left in the game to give itself a two-goal lead again.

A throw-in from Johnson deep in Harrison territory bounced over the Lady Goblins' defense and right to Morales in front of the goal, who scored for a 3-1 lead.

"I could come up with a ton of excuses but that is all they would be," said Harrison coach Chris Pratt. "We made more mistakes than they did and were outplayed."

Up next

The Lady Panthers are scheduled to play at Russellville on Tuesday in a rematch of the last two year's Class 6A state finals, both of which were won by Siloam Springs. On Friday, the Lady Panthers travel to a neutral site at Clarksville to play Class 6A Benton for a nonconference match.

Sports on 04/01/2018