Team Photo: Heber Springs Senior Girls Cross Country
Day: August 30, 2019
Trojans Take Home Opener for First Victory of 2019
August 28, 2019
By Little Rock Sports Information
LITTLE ROCK- Little Rock grabbed their first win of the season in their home opener against Grambling State as Julia Edholm’s 81st minute header gave the Trojans the game-winning goal in their 1-0 victory.
“In the first half we were really nervous,” said Head Coach Mark Foster. “We talked about it at halftime and we gave the girls some solutions to what was going on out there and we played much better. I think it was a win that the girls need for their confidence and once you get that first win everything starts to settle down. We’re really thankful for all the fans that came out tonight, as well as the people for the athletic department and the school who made it a great night.”
Grambling State came out with some lively play from the start, dominating possession in the early minutes. However, the Little Rock defense held strong, allowing just one shot in the first half.
Morgan Smocovich fired two shots from long range, including a driven free kick in the 65th minute, but was denied by the Tigers’ goalkeeper.
Little Rock did well to get back into the game in the second half, winning possession high up the pitch to create solid scoring opportunities.
Mari Young was extremely effective in the attack, starting the match in the striker position. She did well to create space in the attacking third and continually won free kicks near the penalty area.
The game-winning moment came in the 81st minute when the Trojans won a free kick about 35 yards from the goal. Smocovich delivered a wonderful lofted ball near the penalty spot and Edholm rose above the Grambling State defense to flick her header into the back of the net and score the first goal of her Little Rock career.
Julia Curatolo continued her great form between the posts, making one save and earning her second shutout of the season. The redshirt-freshman has now played 245 minutes without allowing a goal.
The Trojans improve to 1-1-1 on the season while they hand Grambling State their first loss of the season as they fall to 2-1 overall.
Little Rock gets back to action Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. when they head to Tulsa, looking for back-to-back wins.
Texas A&M-Texarkana downs Lyon College
August 29, 2019
By Lyon College Sports Information
TEXARKANA, Texas – The Lyon College women’s soccer team fought hard, but ultimately fell to Texas A&M-Texarkana on Thursday by a score of 1-0. The Eagles first half goal proved to be the difference maker in the match.
Lyon is now 1-1 on the season, while Texas A&M-Texarkana moves to 3-0 on the year.
GAME FLOW
In the first half, each side would have opportunities, but it was the Eagles who got on the board first. In the 41st minute, Emily Juarez found Alexandra Martinez who delivered a shot that found the back of the net, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead at the break. The Eagles outshot the Scots 10-1 in the first half.
The Scots sent numbers forward in the second half, looking to knot the game at one. Lyon created chances, but was unable to find the equalizer and ultimately fell to Texas A&M-Texarkana by a score of 1-0 Thursday night.
KEY STATISTICS
– Lyon’s Sarah Evans recorded two shots on goal.
– Lyon goalkeeper, Tabetha Troxler, made a game-high five saves.
– Texas A&M-Texarkana outshot Lyon 17-7.
WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE SCOTS
The Scots continue play in the Texas A&M University-Texarkana Tournament on Saturday as Lyon will face Bacone College at noon.
Arkansas State downs Kansas State
August 29, 2019
Manhattan, Kan. – Despite only taking five shots on the night, the Arkansas State women’s soccer team defeated Big 12 opponent Kansas State 2-1, Thursday evening at Buser Family Park.
Following the win, the Red Wolves improved to 1-1 on the year, while Kansas State fell to 0-2-1.
Naperville, Ill., native, Haley Furio found the back of the net in the 28thminute, her first of the season, giving the Red Wolves a 1-0 lead over the Wildcats. The goal was setup by Junior Sarah Sodoma, who threaded through various Kansas State defenders, then sent the ball off the cross bar which found Furio just inches away from net.
The Wildcats countered about 10 minutes later, in the 38thminute, off the foot of Hannah Davis as Brooklynn Entz was credited with the assists.
Megan McClure made five saves for the Red Wolves as Kansas State out shot A-State 27-5 on the night. The Scarlet and Black took four shots on goal compared to K-State’s 6 while only committed seven fouls compared to the Wildcats’ nine.
Cape Coral, Fl., native Sophia Restrepo was able to give the Red Wolves a 2-1 advantage in the 60thminute, when she found the back of the net in a wide opened fashion. The unassisted goal marked the first goal of Restrepo’s career.
Arkansas State will return to action Sunday, Sept. 1, in its home opener against Central Arkansas. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the A-State Soccer Park.
Razorback Soccer draws with Minnesota, 1-1
August 29, 2019
By Ben Breitbach/UA Sports Information
OXFORD, Miss. – The Razorback soccer team played to a 1-1 draw on Thursday night against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium on the first night of the Rebel Classic.
How It Happened
>> After a quick 1-2 between Stefani Doyle and Taylor Malham, Anna Podojil turned her defender in the 21st-minute, sending a shot to the right upper corner for her first career goal.
>> Minnesota would get the equalizer after a high ball dropped inside the box before Golden Gopher Sadie Harper would put in the back of the net for Minnesota.
The Run of Play
The Razorbacks turned up the pressure early in the first stanza. Just 35 seconds in, Doyle connected with Malham, who sent a shot just over the cross bar. Arkansas recorded four shots and two corners, including a Tori Cannata header that went off the cross bar, in just the opening seven minutes.
The Razorbacks finally took the lead in the 21st-minute from the boot of Podojil. The Golden Gophers didn’t get off their first shot until the 36th-minute, which was saved by the right post.
Arkansas went into half with the one-goal advantage, leading the Gophers in the shots category, 6-2.
Coming out of the locker room, Minnesota would get their equalizer in the 55th-minute off the foot of Harper.
Looking for another goal, Malham split a pair of defenders to lead Doyle to space, but Gopher ‘keeper Maddie Nielsen made a diving stop to deflect Doyle’s first touch in the 79th-minute, as the teams headed into extra time.
Malham had another excellent opportunity as she got a shot off going across the face of goal that Nielsen could only deflect out of bounds for the Razorback corner. However, Arkansas couldn’t get anything off Parker Goins’ corner kick. Razorback ‘keeper Katie Lund came up big when she was 1-on-1 with Haley Hartkmeyer, making a save and then securing the loose ball in the 97th minute.
The two teams would stay scoreless in the final 10 minutes of extra time as Arkansas and Minnesota settled for a 1-1 tie.
UCA falls to Arizona State in Season Opener
August 26, 2019
TEMPE, Arizona – It was a tough night for the University of Central Arkansas women’s soccer team as goals were at a premium in its 7-1 season opener defeat to Arizona State Sunday night from Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. Potentially the toughest game of the season for the Bears, they faced a star studded Arizona State squad that featured six players from their respective national teams, a top honor for any footballer.
UCA (0-1) took an early 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, but were unable to consistently create chances for the entire duration of the match. The Bears tallied three shots total, putting two on target compared to Arizona State’s 19 shots combined with nine on target.
FIRST HALF
- Senior striker Connie Awuku-Darkoh gave the Bears a 1-0 advantage inside of nine minutes after capitalizing on a mistake from the Arizona State goalkeeper.
- Arizona State equalized in the 12th minute and would take a 2-1 lead in the 30th minute. Both ASU goals scored by Nicole Douglas.
- Arizona State went on to score two more goals before halftime and went into the locker room with a 4-1 advantage.
SECOND HALF
- Central Arkansas gave up goals in the 48th and 54th minute, ultimately falling down seven goals to one.
- Freshman Sydney Brough would create the best chance for the Bears in the second half after her 84th minute strike forced a save from the Arizona State keeper.
COACH JEREMY BISHOP QUOTES
“It’s great to be able to get out on the field with an opponent of that caliber and compete with them. To play against a team where at least half of their starting lineup is national team players from all over the world is a great experience, something we can learn and draw experience from. We are ready to get home, get back to work and be ready for our home opener Friday night.”
ON DECK
The Bears will look to bounce back Friday evening as they host Missouri State in their home opener at the Bill Stephens Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
UCA rallies to take down FBS Western Kentucky
August 29, 2019
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The University of Central Arkansas Bears piled up 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter on Thursday night to knock off the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 35-28 in the season opener at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
The FCS Bears downed the FBS Hilltoppers for the second consecutive time following a 28-7 win back in 2009 on the same field. This time, UCA overcame a 28-14 deficit to midway through the third quarter and put together scoring drives that covered 64 yards (7 plays), 80 yards (1 play) and 74 yards (5 plays), the latter with just 6:51 remaining, to pull off the upset again.
Two defensive stands by the Bears, the final one with just 46 seconds remaining, sealed UCA’s third victory over an FBS opponent. The Bears amassed 176 yards on just 12 plays in the fourth quarter and held the Hilltoppers to 140 yards on 24 plays and no points.
“I thought our guys fought, they believed in our plan,” said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. “Coach (Chad) Williams, Coach (Ken) Collums and Coach (Ryan) Howard, our coordinators, did a great job with their plans. Our players trusted them and that’s what it’s about in a big game like this against an FBS opponent. They’re a good football team. They’ve got a lot of good players, some really good length on the D-line.
“We had a lot of new faces that were having to learn on the fly. But man, what a great fourth quarter. And that’s something I told our guys… Last year’s team may have struggled and may have lost (the game), because we lost a lot of close ones in the fourth quarter. But I thought we learned from that and I think our guys paid attention to details and made plays when it mattered.’
The Bears, facing their second 14-point deficit of the night heading into the fourth quarter, cut the margin to 28-21 on the first play of the period when sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith hit sophomore receiver Lujuan Winningham with a 20-yard touchdown pass, his second of what would be three touchdown receptions on the night.
The Hilltoppers then missed a field goal after UCA’s defense held and the Bears pulled off a halfback pass from their own 20 yard line to tie the game. Senior running back Carlos Blackman found a wide open Lujuan Winningham in stride for 80 yards and a touchdown to make it 28-28 with 9:59 remaining.
A quick three-and-out for WKU gave the ball back to UCA at its own 26 with 8:53 left to play. Smith passed 38 yards to junior running back Kierre Crossley and 35 yards to Winningham down to the WKU 1. Blackman went in from there to give the Bears their first lead of the night at 35-28. UCA then turned to its defense, which recorded a pair of interceptions (Robert Rochelle, Duke Upshaw) but had to play the final three quarters without Upshaw, who was injured after his second career interception.
Rochell, a junior cornerback from Shreveport, broke up a pass on fourth down on WKU’s initial drive. After a UCA punt put the Hilltoppers at their own 22 with 2:30 remaining, the Bears allowed the Hilltoppers to reach the 33 before forcing an incomplete pass on fourth down.
“I thought the fourth quarter, we believed,” said Brown. “As soon as we got that game tied, then we got a big stop on the field goal, we knew we were going to take a shot with the halfback pass. Not ideal conditions to be backed up on your own (20), that’t not really where you script it to happen. But Coach Collums looked at me asked if I was good with it and I said let’s go get it. And obviously they bit on it and Lujuan was able to take it down and score.’
Winningham, a sophomore from Humble, Texas, finished with eight receptions for 222 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs. He caught 12 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown all of last season. True freshman Tyler Hudson added four receptions for 59 yards and another score.
“Just two amazing athletes, two young guys,’ said Brown. “Tyler and Lujuan made them hurt and Breylin put it where it needed to be. The offensive line gave protection when we needed protection most. We made plays.’
Smith, who was playing for the first time since a broken ankle sidelined him in Game 4 of the 2018 season, was his old efficient self, completing 20 of 28 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. In the first half alone, Smith was 14 of 17 (77.8 percent) for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bears dug themselves an early two-touchdown hole after the Hilltoppers scored on their first play from scrimmage with a 68-yard touchdown run, then made it 14-0 with a 9-play, 56-yard drive at the 6:16 mark of the first quarter.
Two nice completions from Smith to Hudson, and another to Crossley got the Bears down to the WKU 6 at the close of the quarter. However, Blackman was stopped for no gain on fourth down on the first play of the second period to end the UCA threat. The Bears got on the board with 8:59 left in the half when Smith threaded a pass Winningham from 23 yards out on fourth down to close the gap to 14-7.
The Hilltoppers answered UCA’s score with a quarterback keeper from the three with 3:03 left in the half, good for a 21-7 lead. The Bears then worked their two-minute offense to perfection, aided by a pass interference on the Hilltoppers. Passes of 12 and 11 yards to Winningham set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Hudson with :23 left, bringing the Bears within 21-14 at the half.
The Hilltoppers pushed their lead to 28-14 six minutes into the second half with a 10-yard touchdown run by Gaej Walker that capped a 7-play, 60-yard drive before UCA put together its dominant fourth quarter.
The Bears finished with 424 yards of total offense, averaging 7.3 yards per play. Defensively, transfer linebacker Malik Wilson had a team-high eight tackles, while Rochell and Isaiah Macklin had seven each.
UCA returns to the road next Saturday, facing FCS Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. Game time is 2 p.m.
| Game Stats | UCA | WKU |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 17 | 22 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 424 | 488 |
| Passing Yards | 404 | 304 |
| Rushing Yards | 20 | 184 |
| Penalty Yards | 6-46 | 6-49 |
| 3rd Downs | 5-13 | 9-16 |
| 4th Downs | 1-2 | 0-3 |
| Time Of Possession | 24:49 | 35:11 |
| 1st Quarter | UCA | WKU |
| 12:45 – WKU – WALKER, G. 68 yd run (MUNSON, C. kick ), 1 plays, 68 yards, TOP 0:12 | 0 | 7 |
| 06:16 – WKU – SIMON, J. 5 yd pass from DUNCAN, S. (MUNSON, C. kick ) 9 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:47 | 0 | 14 |
| 2nd Quarter | UCA | WKU |
| 08:59 – UCA – Winningham, Luj 23 yd pass from Smith, Breylin (Ray, Hayden kick ) 8 plays, 70 yards, TOP 3:11 | 7 | 14 |
| 03:03 – WKU – DUNCAN, S. 3 yd run (MUNSON, C. kick ), 12 plays, 83 yards, TOP 5:51 | 7 | 21 |
| 00:26 – UCA – Hudson, Tyler 4 yd pass from Smith, Breylin (Ray, Hayden kick ) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:37 | 14 | 21 |
| 3rd Quarter | UCA | WKU |
| 08:54 – WKU – WALKER, G. 10 yd run (MUNSON, C. kick ), 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:41 | 14 | 28 |
| 4th Quarter | UCA | WKU |
| 14:55 – UCA – Winningham, Luj 20 yd pass from Smith, Breylin (Ray, Hayden kick ) 7 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:33 | 21 | 28 |
| 09:59 – UCA – Winningham, Luj 80 yd pass from Blackman, Carlo (Ray, Hayden kick ) 1 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:11 | 28 | 28 |
| 06:51 – UCA – Blackman, Carlo 1 yd run (Ray, Hayden kick ), 5 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:02 | 35 | 28 |
Game Stat Leaders
#3 Smith, Breylin
- CMP 20
- TD 3
- YDS 324
- INT 0
#23 Blackman, Carlos
- CMP 1
- TD 1
- YDS 80
- INT 0
Conway St. Joseph downs Heber Springs in Volleyball action
August 29, 2019
HEBER SPRINGS – Conway St. Joseph swept Heber Springs in nonconference volleyball play Thursday night at the Panther Den.
The Bulldogs (2-1) downed the Panthers (1-1) in four sets, 25-17, 26-24, 20-25, and 25-18.
In senior girls junior varisty play, St. Joseph defeated Heber Springs (1-1), 25-14 and 25-14.
Heber Springs will open 4A-Central play with a road contest at Pulaski Academy on Sept. 5.