Siloam Springs, Van Buren and Russellville have battled all season to claim the 5A-West Conference championship in boys soccer leading up a Friday night showdown that would determine the outcome.
Siloam Springs and Van Buren met on the field with the winner taking the conference crown, and Russellville watched from a distance with its only shot at the title being a draw between the Panthers and Pointers.
In the end, the ball bounced Van Buren's way as the Pointers scored the game's only goal on a free kick in the 10th minute and held on for a 1-0 victory over Siloam Springs at Panther Stadium.
"Great game," said longtime Van Buren coach Nathan Almond. "These guys knew what they needed to do. I mean they knew what was on the line. I'm just really proud of my boys. They played hard. They made some mistakes out there, but they gave a lot of effort."
Van Buren (17-2-1, 12-2 5A-West) earned 36 points in conference play -- three points for each league win -- and will be the No. 1 seed from the 5A-West in the Class 5A state tournament, which begins Thursday at Panther Stadium in Siloam Springs. The Pointers' only two losses this season came to Russellville, which finished 11-1-2 in league play and had 35 points. Siloam Springs (15-3, 11-3) will be the third seed with 33 points.
"I don't remember a game where this much was on the line," Almond said. "We could have finished third tonight if we had tied with Siloam. That's just crazy. Russellville, Siloam -- well coached teams. We battled and just really enjoyed it."
The Pointers scored the game's only goal when Siloam Springs was whistled for a hand ball just outside of the 18-yard box in the 10th minute. Van Buren's Pedro Rodriguez stepped up and hooked a left footed shot past Siloam Springs keeper Jedi Hunter.
"If you have a kid as talented as their center mid Pedro is, it's real tough to defend," said Siloam Springs coach Luke Shoemaker. "I mean he hit a left foot. We have a great keeper. (Rodriguez) just got it in the back of the net."
The Pointers showed some deception before the free kick with two players lining up to kick it, but Siloam Springs knew it would be Rodriguez.
"We knew he would take it," Shoemaker said. "He takes them on film. He took it against us last time. He just hit a heck of a shot. That's what soccer comes down to. It's who capitalizes on their opportunities. In the first minute, we put a corner right on frame. The kid's on the post but that's just how the game is played."
Rodriguez's goal didn't surprise Almond in the least.
"He's our leading scorer," Almond said. "I believe that's 22 or 23 goals on the year now for him. He's got the ball on his foot a lot. He does a lot of really good things with it and makes things happen for us. I was really proud of him."
There weren't a lot of scoring chances beyond that for either team.
The Panthers have been shutout in all three of their losses, including a 1-0 loss at Van Buren in the final second on April 6.
That was Siloam Springs' last lost until Friday's defeat, ending a six-game winning streak.
Now the Panthers will try and regroup and prepare for the 5A state tournament.
They are expected to play at noon on Thursday at Panther Stadium against 5A-South No. 2 seed El Dorado. Complete conference brackets were not available at presstime.
"It's what do you do next week and that was the message right after the game," Shoemaker said. "It should hurt and sting a little bit, but I told them did we lose a state tournament game tonight? No. Well then on to next week. The message is simple."
Siloam Springs 8, Vilonia 1
The Panthers gave up an early equalizer to Vilonia on Tuesday, but quickly rebounded to beat the Eagles in a 5A-West match at Panther Stadium.
Siloam Springs led 1-0 with a quick goal, but the Panthers went to sleep on defense and Vilonia capitalized to tie the score up.
The Panthers went on to score seven unanswered goals.
Franklin Cortez had two goals and three assists to bring his team-high totals to 21 goals and 19 assists.
Edwin Batres also had two goals and three assists for the Panthers.
Ivan Sandoval scored his 13th goal of the season, which ranks second on the team, and Sam Jackson, Junior Garza and Michael Quinonez all scored one goal.
Ronny Ramirez and Ben Stratman also added assists.
