Siloam Springs and Russellville were locked in another scoreless battle Friday night, and for a while it looked like a second 0-0 draw could be in the works for two of the 5A-West's top girls soccer teams.
But a hustle play and overall awareness led to a Siloam Springs' goal in the 59th minute, and the Lady Panthers made it stand up for a 1-0 victory at Panther Stadium.
Ellen Slater's goal with 21 minutes, 37 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner for Siloam Springs.
"Just like coach said it only takes one to win," said Slater, who scored her fifth goal of the season. "That's what we did. It was really a team effort. It wasn't me at all. It was the team. From the defense to the midfield to the forwards, it wasn't just one player, it was the whole team."
The play began with a free kick from Clara Church deep in Lady Panther territory. Church's kick found Jetta Broquard along the home sideline, who found a seam for her sister Mesa Broquard streaking toward the goal.
Russellville's goalkeeper came out to meet Mesa Broquard but she didn't clear the ball well and it ended up at the feet of Slater, who kicked it past the keeper for the goal.
"What I loved too is the goal we scored wasn't about talent. It was about effort," said Siloam Springs coach Abby Jones. "That's been a huge push for us, too, is you can't rely on your talent. You have to outwork it, outwork your talent. For Mesa to chase that ball down and for Ellen to have the composure to put it away, I love that. Jetta played it. Mesa chased it down to the keeper, which it looked like a ball she wouldn't get to. Somehow she got there, it was an effort play. I love it."
Jones also gave credit to Siloam Springs goalkeeper Ahnaka Buxton, who had several stops in helping the Lady Panthers earn their sixth clean sheet of the season.
"Respect to Russellville," Jones said. "They're a good team. They're a solid team. They had a lot of shots on goal.
"Ahnaka Buxton stepped up tonight. They painted the goal. Every part they could have put the ball, every part they could have shot, she covered the whole thing, tipped a lot of balls out to the corners. I felt like Ahnaka really kept us in it."
Siloam Springs and Russellville played to a 0-0 draw on March 31 in Russellville.
"This one's just so special because Russellville's a really good team and throughout our whole conference we've had these games that are almost like layup games," Slater said, "and this one was really more of a challenge and it's more rewarding and way more exciting when you win these tough games."
Russellville fell to 14-2-2 overall and 9-2-1 in league play.
"It's hard to be on top and the last few games we've struggled," Jones said. "We've just been in a little bit of a funk. I felt like tonight we broke out of it against a good team. We played a good solid game. We needed that."
Friday's win against the Lady Cyclones now puts Siloam Springs (13-3-2, 11-0-1) in position to have a chance at winning the 5A-West Conference championship outright this Friday, May 5, at Harrison (15-4-1, 11-1), in the regular season finale.
Siloam Springs was back in action at home Tuesday against Van Buren in the final home game of the season. Results were not available at presstime.
Siloam Springs 2, Greenwood 1
Jetta Broquard scored two goals and Siloam Springs picked up a road win at Greenwood (8-6-1, 5-6-1) on Tuesday, April 25.
Siloam Springs led 1-0 at halftime on Jetta Broquard's first goal with Ariella Vogus and Mesa Broquard getting credited with an assist. Jetta Broquard added a second goal in the second half with Clara Church getting the assist before Greenwood scored its goal.
Up next
The Lady Panthers travel to Harrison on Friday. Gametime is 7 p.m. following the varsity boys game at 5 p.m.
Mark Ross/Special to the Herald-Leader Siloam Springs' Ellen Slater takes a touch on a ball during Friday's game against Russellville. Slater scored the game's only goal as the Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Cyclones 1-0.