DECATUR -- The Decatur Bulldog soccer team had another winning week as it continued toward the state playoffs in May.
The Bulldogs' first stop was a conference game April 21 against the Bergman Panthers. The Bulldogs quickly took charge and overran the Panthers. The final score in that match was 7 to 0.
Tony Mendoza led the way for the Bulldogs with 3 goals, followed by Eddie Lucio, Antonio Rosales, Carlos Ocampo and Hector Aguilar, with one each.
The next stop was a home game against the Lead Hill Tigers April 24.
The Bulldogs put the first point on the board at the 35 minute mark of the first period. From that point on, Decatur kept driving toward the goal, getting shot after shot past a frustrated Tiger goalie. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Brody Funk who had five goals in the first half. A sixth point was called back.
At the 10-minute mark in the first half, Barry James, soccer coach, decided to give some of his defenders a chance to play at offense. Eighteen seconds later, with the Tiger goalie out of position, Leng Lee put the ball down the center of the net for the first goal of his soccer career.
"I wanted to score at least one goal this season," Lee said." I saw the opportunity and took it. It felt great."
The Bulldogs built the highest single-half lead this season, going into the break, 13 to 0.
At the request of the Lead Hill coaching staff, the second half was cut to 20 minutes. But still the Bulldogs continued the pressure and found the net. James continued to move some of his backfield players forward to give them a chance to score. The ball was passed to Allan Castaneda at midfield. He moved the ball down the field toward his first goal but, just as he was about to kick it into the net, a Lead Hill player intercepted the ball and kicked it out of play.
When the clock wound down to zero, the Decatur Bulldogs had amassed one of their highest single game scores of the season. They defeated the Lead Hill Tigers, 19 to 0.
Brody Funk led the scoring with 6 goals, followed by Tony Mendoza with 5, Carlos Ocampo with 3, Luis "Joni" Fuentes with 2, Hector Ocampo and Leng Lee with one each.
"We didn't think of this game as a win or lose game, we thought of it more as a scrimmage," Funk said. "We passed the ball back and forth and had fun doing it."
For James, this was the best game of the season. His players took the field as champions and played like champions.
"We are really coming together as a team," James said. "Now they begin preparation for the state tournament."
The Bulldog soccer team is 8 and 1 in conference play going into the final week of the regular season. The next games will be April 30 at home against the 7A Bentonville Tigers, with game time at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs play an away game May 5 against the Prairie Grove Tigers at 5:30 p.m. The final game of the regular season will be a home game against Dardanelle on May 7. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Sports on 04/29/2015