Many key victories sparked the Eureka Springs boys’ soccer team to a berth in the Class 3A state tournament.
One of the key moments of the season, however, was a tie.
“One of our biggest wins of the season wasn’t a win at all,” Highlanders coach Arron Oliver said. “It was our 2-2 tie with Decatur, which I believe was our third or fourth game of the season. That tie meant a lot … to get to qualify for state tournament.”
Eureka Springs (7-7-1, 7-6-1 in 3A-West), the fourth seed from its conference, will play Central Arkansas Christian, the top seed from the 3A-East, in an 11 a.m. match Thursday, May 11, in Harrison.
A 4-0 victory over Thaden last week secured the spot for the Highlanders.
“There’s been a lot of growth and improvement this season,” said Oliver, who is in his first season coaching the boys boys and girls soccer teams at ESHS. “We just have three seniors and they do a great job of leading and playing hard.”
State power Green Forest is the top seed from the conference, Decatur finished second and Haas Hall Academy of Bentonville is the No. 3 seed from the league.
“We played tough when it comes to other teams,” Oliver said. “Green Forest is Green Forest when it comes to soccer. And we just pushed out the wins we had to. We beat Lincoln 1-0 and if we didn’t win that game then we would’ve no longer been able to control our own destiny.
“We then had to beat Haas Hall or Thaden to get in and we beat Thaden.
“We were hoping for the No. 3 seed, but ended up with the No. 4 seed.”
Oliver credits co-captains, brothers, and All-State selections Leo Alpizar, a senior, and Jose Alpizar, a junior, as being key leaders for the team.
“Jose, in particular, as a junior did just a phenomenal job,” Oliver said.
He also cited the play of senior Jayden Urioste — whom he calls the “fastest guy in the conference” — and junior Omar Estrada as two of the team’s main key defenders throughout the season.
“When we played Lifeway Christian, their goalie got a little bit cocky and came out of the box on a free kick and Omar sailed it right over him from half the field and got a goal,” Oliver said. “That basically entrenched our win in that game.”
Oliver said he sees a “very solid team” when he watches film of Central Arkansas Christian.
“They don’t really have any stars per se, but it’s hard to find a weakness on either end,” Oliver said of the Mustangs. “They’re a team that’s very disciplined. They love to control possession of the ball.
“But we feel pretty optimistic going into it. We just need to go in and do what we know we’re capable of doing. We feel like the West conference is the toughest in the state so being the fourth seed out of the West is nothing to slouch at, at all.”
GIRLS’ RECORD MISLEADING
The Lady Highlanders only recorded one win all season, a 1-0 victory over Thaden, but Oliver said their record (1-10, 1-9 in 3A-West) isn’t an indication of what he saw on the field.
“We, as coaches, feel their record doesn’t reflect their play,” Oliver said. “There were a few games that we could’ve won that we didn’t win.”
Oliver said several of the Lady Highlanders play other sports in the fall and didn’t join the team until a week before the season started.
“Getting them and learning how to play with each other and developing chemistry was a tough thing to do at first,” he said. “We saw some good things during many games, though, and next year we really are shooting for making state.”
