It's kind of unbelievable to write this, but this has been my 10th season covering Siloam Springs soccer.
Little did I know in 2010 when I went out each night to Glenn W. Black Stadium that all of us -- players, coaches, fans and yes, even media -- would be in for a heck of a run the past decade.
Let's revisit the landscape of Panther soccer in 2010.
The boys, who had come up short in state final appearances in 2005 and 2007, finished 13-6-1 and a second-round loss in the Class 5A playoffs to Central Arkansas Christian. You knew the Panthers had great talent, they just needed to put it all together.
Then the girls program. How can anyone forget a stunning 2-1 upset loss to Little Rock Mills and a 9-11-1 finish to the season?
But oh what a ride the next nine years were. Here are some numbers to chew on:
• 9 -- State championships total: Four for the boys (2011, 2012, 2016, 2017) and five straight for the girls (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018).
• 13 -- state finals appearances overall for both teams. Add 2013 to the boys and girls, and 2015 and 2018 to the boys.
• .683 -- That's the boys soccer team's winning percentage since the start of 2010 -- a record of 153-63-8.
• .640 -- Winning percentage for the girls since 2010 -- a record of 144-74-7. Breaking it down since 2013, the Lady Panthers are 114-44-3 (.708).
• 28-5 -- That's the boys' postseason record since 2010, including conference tournament games in 2017 and 2018, and a winning percentage of .848.
• 25-4 -- The girls' postseason record since 2010 and a .862 winning percentage. And folks, the Lady Panthers haven't lost a playoff game since 2013 and have won 21 postseason games in a row.
There are a lot of successful soccer programs around the state, but I would bet the farm you'd be hard-pressed to find a program with the sustained success that the Panthers and Lady Panthers have had over the last 10 years.
Now we're headed back to Searcy this week for another state soccer tournament, where we had tournaments in 2013 and 2015 as well.
Playoff time is go time for Siloam Springs soccer. It's time to add to the history books once again.
-- 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 05/08/2019