The Siloam Springs girls' soccer team scored an early goal against Bentonville West, had to withstand a barrage of shots on defense and nearly scored a game winner late in a 1-1 draw at Panther Stadium on Feb. 27.
Siloam Springs grabbed the lead in the seventh minute when Chaney Stanaland scored on a header off of a corner kick by Jetta Broquard.
Siloam Springs girls' Coach Abby Jones said the corner-kick play was new and the team was fresh from practicing it.
"It was exciting to score off of a brand-new corner," Jones said.
West would tie the match in the 24th minute on a 25-yard strike by Kyndal Stafford.
West, led by Tianna Jones pressing on offense at every chance, outshot Siloam Springs 9-2 in the first half and 15-5 for the game, but Lady Panthers' goalkeeper Norah Perkins made 13 saves.
Jones hit the crossbar with a shot in the 58th minute and Perkins had to clear her line during a scramble in front of the Siloam Springs' goal in the 68th minute.
Broquard had a shot attempt blocked in the 70th minute and another Siloam Springs shot in the 78th minute went just wide of the West goal.
Against a team like West it was important to be patient and wait for moments to score, Jones said.
"I feel like we did that some in the first half once we had a goal -- just kind of sit in and defend a little bit more, but wait for our moments and not chase every ball," Jones said.
Jones also credited the play of her team's defense and its ability to be able to block shots in front of Perkins.
In the closing minutes Jones felt the Lady Panthers would score the game-winning goal.
"You swing back and forth between are you going to get the go-ahead goal to drop, drop because they are coming back at us," Jones said. "That showed how evenly we were matched and how bad both sides wanted it."
West Coach Kerry Castillo said Siloam Springs was able to catch the Lady Wolverines on the counter late.
"Hats off to Siloam," Castillo said. "Well coached and a hard-working team, a technical team. They fought until the end. They were really good combining in the final third, then running at your goal. They produced a couple of good chances. Our girls answered the call, luckily."
The Lady Panthers played three Oklahoma schools in the Bentonville Tournament on March 1-2.
Siloam Springs lots 1-0 to Southmoore on March 1. The Lady Panthers were five minutes from going to penalty kicks before the SaberCats scored, Jones said.
Siloam Springs lost 3-0 to Jenks the morning of March 2 before beating Piedmont on penalty kicks that afternoon.
Jetta Broquard scored off an assist from Abby Ballesteros. Penalty kick scorers were Ellen Slater, Mesa Broquard, Addison Pilcher, Norah Perkins and Broquard. Perkins blocked Piedmont's first penalty kick to set the tone, Jones said.
"We have endured a lot of adversity in the last week," Jones said. "We know that our suffering produces endurance and endurance produces proven character. I constantly remind that team that we go through hard things because it's the only way to gain strength."
Siloam Springs lost to 4-0 Bentonville in a benefit match at Panther Stadium on Feb. 20.
Siloam Springs hosted Rogers on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time.