ROGERS HIGH DEFEATS FAYETTEVILLE ON PENALTY KICKS

"It was funny because she said, 'Yeah, I know. I was so embarrassed,' but I told her, 'You made up for it,'" Rogers coach Aaron Crouch said. "She had that opportunity and was able to stick it against a very, very good keeper and a very good defense that had been playing well up until that point." Stahr's goal sent the Mounties to a penalty kick shootout with Fayetteville (5-7-1, 5-4) for the second time this season after regulation ended 1-1. Rogers would go on to win 3-1 after keeper Mac Brace came up with two big saves for the Mounties. Rogers (16-1, 9-0 6A-West) overcame a slow first half to stay perfect in conference play this year after Crouch made some adjustments that proved to be the difference in the game. The Mounties lost one of their starting forwards for most of the first half after Leslie Barrales left about four minutes into the game with an apparent leg injury. Barrales' absence changed Crouch's game plan, and the Mounties had to readjust to the changes in personnel, which Crouch attributed to the slow start. Those changes continued for Crouch as he kept subbing in fresh legs to keep Rogers' pressure up against Fayetteville's back line, looking for the equalizing goal before Stahr tied it. "We said, 'Let's go at them. You got nothing to lose. You're down 1-0,'" Crouch said. "At this point, you were going to have to make a change." Fayetteville coach Joe Thoma thought his team did not kill the Mounties' momentum consistently enough in the final minutes. It was a tough loss for the Lady Bulldogs, which had two goals get called back in the first half after being called offside and played the No. 1 team in the conference tight for the whole game. Thoma did not have an angle to see where his players were on both calls but said his team had other chances to score that could have won the game in regulation, he said. The Bulldogs' shootout struggles continued with the team now dropping to 0-4 in games this season decided by penalty kicks. Fayetteville had two shots blocked and had another one sail over the top of the goal while Bentonville had little trouble converting its chances. "That's really atypical for us. We're usually a team that takes those opportunities," Thoma said. Senior midfielder Kamilla Sarvestani delivered Fayetteville's lone goal after she scored off a corner kick with about 15 minutes left in the first half. The shot curved into the top right corner off the net, just over the outstretched hands of Brace.

ROGERS HIGH DEFEATS FAYETTEVILLE ON PENALTY KICKS

ALEX NICOLL

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 4/17/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: J.T. Wampler