WHITE HALL - A lot was on the line at Bulldog Stadium in White Hall Tuesday night as El Dorado soccer looked to enhance its playoff spot in the 5A South and extract some revenge on the Bulldogs. Going into the match, White Hall was the only team in the conference the Wildcats had not defeated.
That would change as El Dorado emerged with a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
At stake was a possible No. 2 seed in the upcoming 5A State Tournament in Siloam Springs. As long as the Cats could win and then get a little help from a few other conference results later this week, they would obtain a second-place seeding.
As play kicked off, El Dorado controlled most of the possession early on in the initial 40 minutes. However, neither team was able to find a serious gap in their opponents’ back defensive line until exactly midway through the half. Freshman striker Alex Flores received a golden ball from attacking center-midfielder Ben Humphreys, was able to out-maneuver a defender and a very capable Bulldog keeper and give the Cats a 1-0 lead.
That lead was short-lived as the Bulldogs found some intensity and less than one minute later leveled the score with a lofty shot past Wildcat goalie Dave Carruth.
The action, intensity, and physicality of the game only increased from that point.
Three minutes later, El Dorado midfielder Andrew Lowrey slotted a pass through the center of the Bulldog back line to a streaking Humphreys, who received it in stride with a defender alongside and the White Hall keeper coming off his line rapidly to the top of his box. Fortuitously, in the battle for control at the top of the 18-yard box between the three players, the Bulldog keeper and defender collided, and the ball popped free. Humphreys recovered it and launched a solid shot between the legs of a second Bulldog defender and into the net for a one-goal Wildcat advantage.
White Hall soon matched El Dorado's energy level for the next few minutes. A defensive Wildcat foul inside their own box with five minutes left in the first half resulted in a Bulldog penalty kick. It was converted and sent each team to halftime equalized at two goals apiece.
With 27 minutes remaining in the second half, another El Dorado foul was called approximately 28 yards from the Wildcat goal. The Bulldogs were able to convert this opportunity too, as the ball bounced around, off of a few players, and landed directly in front of goal. It was forcefully blasted in for a White Hall lead.
Play remained back and forth for the next 10 minutes, as White Hall often dropped an outside midfielder back to form a five-man defensive line in an attempt to preserve its lead. The Wildcats made positional changes with Jadon Cunningham and Hayes Jackson moving up to strikers from their midfield and defensive positions, respectively. That strategy paid huge dividends as the Wildcats were able to counter-attack off of a White Hall corner and get the ball quickly out to Cunningham on the far left side of play. Cunningham eluded and outran defenders from midfield down to the top of the box, before sending a perfect left-footed ball across to a well-positioned Jackson. Jackson found the back of the net for a momentum-changing tying goal.
El Dorado immediately found adrenaline after that score and pressed its attack harder. Under heavy pressure and with five minutes remaining in the match, a Bulldog handball was called inside their box as they tried to defend the onslaught. The resulting penalty kick was slammed home by Cunningham, giving the Wildcats a 4-3 advantage.
The Bulldogs kept fighting. A late minute very high-quality lefthanded save by Carruth helped stave off the dying White Hall offensive and preserve the win.
The Wildcats, now riding a five-game win streak which they have outscored opponents 25-5, will play their final conference game Friday night at Memorial Stadium against Sheridan, which will also be Senior Night.