By Tony Burns
Sports Editor
EL DORADO - Benton exploded for three second-half goals and pulled away to a 5-1 girls soccer victory over El Dorado Tuesday at the EHS Soccer Complex. The Lady Wildcats fell to 16-3 overall while the Lady Panthers improved to 12-5.
El Dorado coach Neville Matthews said his team played well but credited Benton goalkeeper Jayme Selph, who made several remarkable saves, including a diving stop on a shot by Autumn Parker in the first half.
“They were the better team today. I needed a game like that to get ready for the playoffs. They were the better team today,” said Matthews. “Their keeper kept them in the game. We had some shots. Our girls didn’t play bad. We just didn’t get the ball to fall. We had some good shots. Their keeper kept them in the game. They dug them out. We had a couple of tough lucks but, overall, I thought my girls played well.
“We needed a game like this to wake them up anyway. I think we’ve been coasting. We needed a game like this to wake us up.”
The Lady Wildcats threatened to take an early lead but Carson Henry’s left footer caromed off the post before Selph stopped Parker’s shot about three minutes later.
Benton’s Izzy Arnold took control of the game in the midfield for the next several minutes, winning possession and igniting the attack for the Lady Panthers.
“She had pretty good foot skills,” noted Matthews. “I tried to take that away from them and double down on her. But, she was getting by us.”
Arnold assisted on a goal by Maddie McVey to break the scoreless tie at the 16:43 mark of the first half. A little more than a minute later, at the 15:19 mark, Hattie Mahoney scored off Arnold’s cross in front of the goal.
The Lady Wildcats retaliated at the 5:12 mark of the half when Angel Leveritt used a burst of speed to nudge past a Benton defender and slide a shot past Selph, cutting the deficit to 2-1 at the half.
El Dorado opened the second half with a quick attack but Cami Lowrey’s low shot was smothered by Selph in front of the net.
The Lady Panthers then began to dominate possession and peppered shots at the El Dorado net. Mahoney’s second goal was set up by a long cross with 32:30 left. After a near miss on a corner kick, Benton struck again on a goal by Julia Dick with 19:47 remaining.
El Dorado kept fighting but Autumn Seemann’s shot on a break-away was snuffed out by Selph.
Aida Olmos, the Lady Wildcats’ goalkeeper, came up big herself, saving a penalty kick attempt by Annah Kate Smith. But, after Selph saved a left-footed blast by Leveritt, Smith went low to ease a shot past Olmos for the final goal with 1:28 remaining.
El Dorado, which opens the 6A-West Tournament on Saturday, battled until the final buzzer on Senior Night, which was a positive, according to Matthews.
“They didn’t duck their heads after we were down. They kept playing and we had some chances. They never quit playing. That’s the good thing for me. They never quit playing,” he said. “We just didn’t get the ball to fall our way. Like I said, their keeper kept them in the game. She dug some balls out that, normally, would go in the net. If I had to pick a player of the game, I’d give it to their keeper. Our guys got shots off. We played our game. They didn’t play bad.”