The Siloam Springs girls soccer team is in a familiar position after the first round of 5A-West Conference play.
The Lady Panthers remained in a three-way tie for first place in the league after a sloppy 6-2 victory over Vilonia on Friday at Panther Stadium.
Siloam Springs (8-5, 6-1) struggled to find goals early and led just 1-0 at halftime on a Shelby Johnson goal and added a second goal from Laura Morales early in the second half.
The Lady Panthers scored four goals over the final 22 minutes, but they also gave up a pair of disappointing goals to spoil a shutout bid.
"What I talked to the girls about was the whole first half was frustrating for us," said head coach Abby Ray. "We knew we weren't playing that great. We came out the second half and I think we played better but still not our best. Giving up the goals is extremely frustrating. It's not something we ever want to do."
Madi Race scored on an acrobatic header play with 21:14 left for a 3-0 lead, and Race connected with Johnson for another goal at the 18:41 mark to make it 4-0.
But Siloam Springs gave up back to back goals off of Vilonia free kicks, making the score 4-2 and forcing Ray to put back in some starters.
The Lady Panthers responded by scoring a pair of goals to re-establish control of the game.
Johnson scored off another Race assist for a hat trick and team-leading ninth goal. Morales scored again to join Johnson for the team lead in goals.
"It's just frustrating we didn't do that the whole game," Ray said of the team's scoring surge in the last minutes. "We didn't play 80 minutes. We picked and chose our moments to play and we can't do that."
Siloam Springs is in a perfect tie with Greenbrier and Little Rock Christian for first place in the league. Siloam Springs' only league loss is to Greenbrier in PKs, while Greenbrier lost to Little Rock Christian in PKs, and Little Rock Christian recently lost to Siloam Springs in PKs.
"It's hard because the three of us are so evenly ranked," Ray said. "But what I've told the girls is I think we're the best team in this conference, and I think this conference is the best conference in the state. Yeah we went to PKs with those teams, but I think we can beat them in a game in the 80 minutes, whistle to whistle. I don't think we need to go PKs with them the next time.
"It's nice being on top because I know there's a lot of doubt on us this year. We knew from the beginning people were doubting on us. It's just good to prove to ourselves and everybody else that we can be on top still."
Siloam Springs 2, Russellville 0
RUSSELLVILLE -- The Lady Panthers scored a pair of second-half goals to win their third straight game Tuesday night at Cyclone Stadium in Russellville.
The game got testy at times with four yellow cards being issued, according to head coach Abby Ray.
"It was a physical game," Ray said. "We knew Russellville would give us everything they had. We've developed a rivalry with them over the years -- one in which we have usually been on top, beating them in the state tournament the past three years. They were under the impression that since we graduated a good senior class last year that we wouldn't be the same caliber team that we've been in the past, so we felt like we had something to prove."
After a scoreless first half, the Lady Panthers got on the scoreboard in the second half. Laura Morales assisted on Hadley Crenshaw's goal in the 43rd minute.
Then with nine minutes remaining, the Lady Panthers added an insurance goal after Karen Flores scored off a deflected shot off the crossbar from Madi Race.
Goalkeeper Reina Tiefel recorded nine saves in the match as Siloam Springs became the first team to shut out Russellville in 5A-West play. Ray said the Lady Panthers' defensive back line played well.
Up next
Siloam Springs is scheduled to return to action at home against Beebe on Friday. The varsity girls game is scheduled to begin around 7:15 p.m.
Sports on 04/07/2019