The Siloam Springs boys soccer team has played in five straight state finals -- winning two titles in 2016 and 2017 -- and the Panthers have made championship appearances in eight of the last nine seasons.
That kind of consistency is not lost on Siloam Springs head coach Luke Shoemaker, who was in his first year in leading the Panthers after spending four years (2014-2017) as a boys and girls soccer assistant coach at SSHS and the 2018 season as head coach at Greenwood.
"Making it five years in a row is the most we've ever done as a program," Shoemaker said. "Even when Coach (Jason) Bowen had them rolling, getting five straight is a challenge."
Siloam Springs (18-6) came up short in its bid for a state title last Friday with a 1-0 loss to Russellville (19-4-1). It was the Panthers' 10th appearance overall in a state final.
It was the Cyclones' eighth appearance in the finals since 2010 and Russellville's fifth title overall under coach Jared Fuller, who also won titles in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. The 2015 and 2018 appearances came at the expense of Siloam Springs, while the Panthers' 2016 title was a victory over Russellville.
"(Fuller has) been in several of these," Shoemaker said. "I've got to enjoy several as an assistant. (Friday's game) was a battle. It was an intense battle where it wasn't about getting in each other's face because we were getting mouthy, both teams had competitors. Both teams have fighters. It was fun to watch. It was a very intense, active game. It was entertaining for the fans to say the least. I'm proud of my guys."
So long, seniors
The Panthers said goodbye to several seniors after last Friday's championship game, including several key pieces from the last four years.
Senior forward Eli Jackson finished the season with 24 goals and 17 assists and 54 goals and 27 assists for his career. Jackson is a John Brown signee.
Senior Christian Marroquin, who missed the final five games with a broken foot, had 16 goals and 15 assists as a senior and finished his career with 44 goals and 36 assists.
Goalkeeper Wyatt Church finished the season with 85 saves, while Hugo Hernandez, Alejandro Palacios, Gerson Matias, Miguel Granados and Alex Rivas all played in their final game.
"For my seniors, this is why I came back. I wanted to coach them one more time and I wish I was able to do more to help them, but I'm proud of them nonetheless," Shoemaker said. "They had a great four years here."
Not an end but a beginning
Though the Panthers are losing several key seniors, the cupboard is not empty for Siloam Springs heading into the 2020 season.
The Panthers return several underclassmen contributors, including sophomores Franklin Cortez, Junior Garza, Sam Jackson and juniors Danny Daugherty, Jose Posada, Carson Wleklinski, Thad Wright, Julio Maldanado among others.
Daugherty finished with 10 goals and five assists, while Maldonado had six goals and three assists, and Cortez five goals and three assists.
"I know that we have a lot of great kids," Shoemaker said. "We have a lot of spirit. We have a lot of depth. We have a group that's coming back, I think they'll make a push. My expectation is that they can work hard enough and they are good enough to get back to this game."
Great crowd
It wasn't lost on the Panthers the huge crowd of parents, fans and particularly students, who showed up at Razorback Field to cheer on the team.
"The fans, I'm so proud to be a Panther," Shoemaker said after the game. "How they come in full force to cheer on these guys, and how I know here in a couple of minutes, our guys are pretty torn up and they're still going to be there loving on them. I love that about our town."
Sports on 05/22/2019