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Ben Goff/NWA Democrat-Gazette Hailey Dorsey of Siloam Springs heads the ball off a corner kick Tuesday during the match against Rogers at Whitey Smith Stadium in Rogers.
Ben Goff/NWA Democrat-Gazette Hailey Dorsey of Siloam Springs heads the ball off a corner kick Tuesday during the match against Rogers at Whitey Smith Stadium in Rogers.

By Mike Capshaw

Staff Writer n [email protected]

Good thing Megan Hutto's letter jacket is covered with so many patches from all her accolades. The patch covered sleeves provided extra warmth as Hutto watched the majority of Siloam Springs' 6-0 victory against Van Buren from the bench on a chilly Thursday night Panther Stadium.

Hutto scored a hat trick and an assist to spot the Lady Panthers (5-1) a 4-0 lead in the first half. She assisted on Brooklyn Buckminister's goal to get her team on the board and then booted the next three in herself. Buckminister took a pass from Hutto and then maneuvered by a defender before using her left foot to kick it past a diving goalkeeper.

The fourth goal came when Hutto hammered in a shot from 28 yards away with 10 minus, 54 seconds remaining in the first half. She headed to the sidelines and spent the rest of the match serving as a cheerleader from the bench.

"I'm freezing, but it's not as cold as the Rogers game (a 3-2 win on Tuesday), that was so cold," Hutto said.

Hutto had to work extra hard for her second goal against the Lady Pointers' collapsing back line. With 14:46 remaining in the first half, she dribbled around the perimeter and then around a defender to deposit a shot in the back left corner of the goal for a 3-0 lead. At one point just before the goal, she shouted "quit forcing it" to a teammate as the Lady Panthers missed a few opportunities early.

"Sometimes, we tend to turn into the defense and not use our help. I feel like that's something we can all work on," Hutto said. "They're back line stayed farther back, so the through balls were not on, so we just tried to move the ball around them."

In the second half, Hutto watched as sophomore Maddie Vaughn shined from Hutto's midfield position. Vaughn, who scored a goal last season, missed several shots before having one clank off the left post at the 18-minute mark. She threw her hands up and was shaking her head as if to say, "What else do I have to do?"

About three minutes later, Vaughn finally punched one into the back of the net and threw both arms high in the air as she celebrated with teammates.

"It was amazing, honestly," Vaughn said. "Just getting a goal in a varsity game, it's crazy. It was really exciting and I like it a little bit more than JV because everything seems a little faster."

Vaughn scored a second goal -- the third of her varsity career after one last season -- came off a pass from freshman forward Madison Race when Vaughn hit a shot from 12-yards out with 5:23 remaining in regulation. Race almost joined in on the scoring action when she hit a high shot at the one-minute mark. The ball was bobbled by Van Buren's goalie before she secured it.

Resting regulars and giving reserves like Vaughn and Race was the plan coming in, according to Siloam Springs coach Brent Crenshaw.

"I knew we were a little tired from Tuesday night," Crenshaw said. "We expended a lot of energy, so it was important for us to come out early and try to score, so we could rest some of our kids and get some of our kids in from the bench.

"It was good to get everybody in. We started off the game and we had a hard time scoring at first. But once we got going, and didn't force it and just play feet, we accomplished what we wanted to."

At halftime, Crenshaw gave senior keeper Sydney Bomstad the option of staying in the game after Van Buren didn't even get a shot off during the first half. The Lady Panthers got two in the second half, but Bomstad was there to corral each one to preserve the shutout.

"She wanted to stay in there," Crenshaw said. "This is her first year at goalie, so she wanted some experience back there and she got a little tested at times. She's still trying to learn, but I think she was pretty bored in that first half."

Hutto has been impressed with the way the underclassmen have "stepped up" and said she's excited about the way the team has played thus far.

"I feel like we're mainly moving the ball more," Hutto said. "We're just connecting. Last year, we would just try to send the ball a lot on corner kicks and stuff, but I feel like now, we're trying to move and find people and connect more as a team.

"We're playing differently as a team. We may not try to run the score up as much, but I'm excited to see what we have."

Siloam Springs 3, Rogers 2

ROGERS -- The Lady Panthers picked up their fourth victory of the season Tuesday with a 3-2 win against Rogers at Whitey Smith Stadium.

Hadley Crenshaw and Laura Morales scored first-half goals for the Lady Panthers. Siloam Springs got its third goal in the 51st minute of the second half when a Meghan Kennedy header deflected off a Rogers player into the goal for a 3-1 lead.

"We really talked about our movement off the ball, it really wasn't where it needed to be (in a tournament) over the weekend," Crenshaw said. "We talked about it, and the girls came out did a really good job. Overall, this is a good win over a quality team."

Rogers' Haley Arrick cut the lead to a single-digit in the 70th minute. Kristen Babbitt sent a pass across midfield, which Arrick corralled. She then maneuvered around Siloam Springs keeper Sydney Bomstad for the score.

Skylurr Patrick scored for Rogers in the 34th minute. Patrick received a pass just inside the penalty area, dribbled through the heart of the Siloam Springs defense, fired a shot off a defender, grabbed the rebound and put it back in for the goal, which cut the Lady Panthers' lead to 2-1.

Sports on 03/11/2018