The Siloam Springs boys soccer team was minutes away from its wrapping up its third straight victory and moving into a tie for fourth place in the 5A-West Conference standings Friday night against Greenbrier.
But all of that progress was halted in the 77th minute when a Siloam Springs foul inside the 18-yard box led to a Greenbrier penalty kick.
Victor Alvarez's goal tied the match 2-2, and that's how it ended as Siloam Springs and Greenbrier settled for a 2-2 draw at Panther Stadium.
On the play, where Siloam Springs was called for a foul, SSHS boys coach Craig Moses wasn't totally sure what the call was but he guessed it was obstruction. Goalkeeper Layne Mason had possession of the ball.
"What I saw was the keeper had the ball, and I guess they called obstruction on that," Moses said. "I don't know. Our guy wasn't really playing the ball because the keeper already had the ball. It was something we really didn't need to do, but at the same time I understand what the player was doing. Just one of them unfortunate things that's sort of been our Achilles' heel all year. We've let some stuff slip away on us this year like that."
The draw kept Siloam Springs (3-10-3, 3-4-3) in fifth place heading into Tuesday's game at Greenwood, behind fourth place Mountain Home (14-4-2, 4-4-2) but in front of sixth place Greenbrier (6-5-2, 3-5-2) and seventh-place Greenwood (7-7-2, 3-6-1).
"A win would have put us in fourth tonight," Moses said. "Then we would have controlled our own destiny from that point on. We still control our own destiny, but we do have to have some help. Being realistic, we've got to look at winning three of out four. And where they come from doesn't really matter, but we've got to win three of four."
Alvarez gave Greenbrier a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute of the match with a goal, but Siloam Springs was able to tie the score before halftime with Carlos Sandoval scored on a penalty kick with 53 seconds before halftime. Anderson Lara drew the foul that led to the PK.
Siloam Springs opened the second half with a quick goal to take a 2-1 lead. Ronald Manica's corner found the head of Alejandro Fierro, who fired toward the Greenbrier goal. Greenbrier's keeper made a stop but Lara was there for a rebound and the score less than two minutes in.
"I thought second half we played with more energy," Moses said. "We came out and scored two minutes into the second half. I thought we played with a lot more energy. We got tired. Didn't have a lot of bench players come off. I know the last two to three minutes we were trying to fight for our lives. Then right there at the three minute mark we gave up a PK, and it's just crushing. It's crushing mentally. Now it just makes our route a lot tougher."
It's the second time Siloam Springs and Greenbrier have played to a draw this season. They tied 1-1 in Greenbrier on March 16.
"I tell you what it was a physical game," Greenbrier coach Stephen Brasher said. "Both teams played physical. Every time we play these guys they play extremely hard, and we have to match their effort and intensity and we tried to do that today."
Siloam Springs 3, Alma 0
The Siloam Springs boys soccer team won its second straight 5A-West Conference game and notched its second straight shutout with a win at Alma on Tuesday, April 18.
Ronald Mancia scored in the 23rd minute, with the assist going to Anthony Sandoval.
Sandoval scored unassisted with 23 minutes left in the second half and Ramon Loyo added a goal with 18 minutes left for the Panthers. Alma fell to 1-12 overall, 0-9 in conference play.
Up next
Siloam Springs was back in action at Greenwood on Tuesday. Results were not available at presstime. The Panthers host first place and defending state champion Russellville at 5:15 p.m. Friday at Panther Stadium.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader Siloam Springs freshman goalkeeper Layne Mason comes out of goal to make a stop during a match against Greenbrier on Friday, April 21.