A 30-minute lightning delay just prior to kickoff might have contributed to a slow start offensively for the Siloam Springs girls soccer team Tuesday night against Alma.
Eventually, though, the Lady Panthers found their groove and finished off the Lady Airedales in a 6-0 victory at Panther Stadium.
"Our game started an hour behind schedule so we came out a little flat," said coach Abby Ray. "We played well. We just lacked urgency. The girls were excited to play. It's just hard to wait around for that long and still be on top of your game."
Despite some sluggish shots early, Siloam Springs did manage to score an early goal in the fifth minute to take a 1-0 lead.
Madi Race scored off a Laura Morales assist with 36 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first half.
The Lady Panthers then peppered the Alma goal with shots early but weren't able to get one in until the 23:49 mark when Morales scored this time off a Race assist.
Siloam Springs' final goal of the first half came with 9:40 remaining when Sachi Lor put one home off a Shelby Johnson throw-in.
Morales assisted on a Shelby Johnson goal to open the second half with 32:16 remaining in the game.
Maddie Vaughan assisted on a Macie Herrell goal, and Herrell also scored unassisted for the final Siloam Springs goals of the day. Herrell's first goal came with 16:38 left and the final with 4:24 remaining to hit the mercy rule and cut the remaining time in half.
The shutout was the third straight for the Siloam Springs defense as Reina Tiefel and Alyssa Muessemeyer split time in goal. Muessemeyer made one save.
Greenbrier 2, Siloam Springs 2 (Greenbrier wins 3-2 PKs)
GREENBRIER -- The Siloam Springs girls suffered their first 5A-West Conference loss in penalty kicks at Greenbrier on Thursday night.
The start of the game was delayed more than an hour because of a scheduling miscue with officials by Greenbrier.
Once the game started, Siloam Springs (4-5, 2-1 5A-West) took an early 1-0 around 4 minutes, 30 seconds into the game with the assist going to Madi Race.
Greenbrier (9-1, 2-1) tied the game at halftime and took a 2-1 lead around 20 minutes into the second half.
Siloam Springs was able to tie the game with 16 seconds left when a long throw-in from Shelby Johnson found Morales who scored to tie the game 2-2.
With the game tied at the end of regulation, it went straight to the penalty kicks period.
Morales and Sydney Moorman each made their penalty kicks, but Siloam Springs did not convert on its other three chances. Goalkeeper Alyssa Muessemeyer made two saves in the PK period for Siloam Springs.
Up next
The Siloam Springs girls are off this week for spring break. The Lady Panthers return to action at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, at home against Greenwood.
Sports on 03/17/2019