DECATUR -- It was a tough beginning to a new week for the Decatur Bulldog soccer team as players traveled south April 14 to take on the Danville Little Johns.
The Bulldogs were not up to full strength, reeling from the loss of Jonathon Vargas last week. More important to Decatur's lineup was the absence of goalie Meng Vang, who was away on family business.
The Little Johns struck first, scoring a goal midway through the first half. The rest of the half was all defense as both teams struggled to find the net. Danville took a 1 to 0 lead into the break.
In the second half, the absence of Vargas and Vang began to show. The Little Johns scored two more goals, making it a 3 to 0 game. Danville's defense proved too much for the Bulldogs as they failed to score in the second half. The Danville Little Johns handed the Decatur Bulldogs their first conference loss of the season, 3 to 0.
"Mentally, they weren't in it," said Barry James, Decatur soccer coach. "I don't know if the long three-hour drive had anything to do with it, too."
The next match pitted the Bulldogs against the Highlanders of Eureka Springs in a makeup game at Bulldog Stadium April 16.
The game started slow with the ball going both ways until the 11:50 mark when Decatur scored the first goal of the game. Decatur would connect again at the 9:13 mark and the 6:45 mark, making it a 3 to 0 Decatur game. A little over 80 seconds later, with 5:21 left to play in the half, the Highlanders slipped one past Bulldog goalie Meng Vang for their only score in the first half, giving Decatur a 3 to 1 lead going into the break.
The game had barely resumed before Decatur scored its fourth goal of the match. But Eureka Springs answered with its second goal at the 34:27 mark to make it a 4 to 2 Bulldog game. Decatur put point number five into the net at the 26:18 mark. Eight minutes later, Eureka Springs made goal number three. From the 18:04 until the end of the game the Bulldogs put six more points on the board, taking the match in one of their best performances of the season, 10 to 3.
This is the fourth conference victory of the season for the Bulldogs. James was more then pleased with the performance.
"They are awesome, simply awesome," James said. "They came out on fire today. Carlos Ocampo, who is one of our defenders, scored five goals and that is a defender!"
Also scoring against the Highlanders was Tony Mendoza with three. Luis Ocampo and Joni Fuentes each scored one.
The Bulldogs faced the Gentry Pioneers at Bulldog Stadium in Decatur April 17.
It was all Decatur, shutting out the Pioneers, 5 to 0, for the Bulldogs' fifth conference win of the season and a berth in the first round of the 4A state tournament on May 14. The Bulldogs are now 5 and 1 in conference and 5 and 5 overall. Scoring for Decatur were Joni Fuentes and Tony Mendoza, each with two, and Brody Funk with one.
Sports on 04/22/2015