Decatur loses to Fayetteville in battle of the Bulldogs soccer match

Photo by Mike Eckels Marck Guadarrama (Decatur #16) uses his chest to deflect the ball away from a Fayetteville shooter during the Decatur-Fayetteville soccer match at Harmon Play Field in Fayetteville March 10.
Photo by Mike Eckels Marck Guadarrama (Decatur #16) uses his chest to deflect the ball away from a Fayetteville shooter during the Decatur-Fayetteville soccer match at Harmon Play Field in Fayetteville March 10.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Decatur Bulldogs soccer team traveled south March 10 to take on the junior varsity Bulldogs of Fayetteville High School at Harmon Play Field in Fayetteville.

The two teams were evenly matched through the first 25 minutes of the game. Both goal keepers blocked several shot attempts until Fayetteville slipped the ball past Decatur's Jimmy Mendoza to make it a 1 to 0 match. Decatur made several runs on the goal throughout the half but was stopped short by a strong Fayetteville goal keeper.

The Fayetteville Bulldogs scored two more goals by the end of the first half, to lead Decatur, 3 to 0.

In the second half, Fayetteville scored again on a penalty shot. Fayetteville scored three more times before the match ended, to take a 7-0 victory over Decatur.

"I thought the teams were evenly matched skill wise, but they were more aggressive than us," said Barry James, Decatur's head coach. "The defense hurt us again this game."

James set up the 2016 schedule with the Bulldogs playing bigger and more aggressive 6A and 7A teams, hoping to expose weaknesses in both the Bulldog offense and defense. This will allow James to fix the problems and mold the Bulldogs into a more aggressive team.

James will move some of his key players into back-field positions to help his younger players see the importance of a strong defense.

"There will be much work to do and we will make a few changes for the Springdale game next week," said James. "The guys just don't understand that you can't win any games without a good defense."

The Bulldogs are now 0-1-1 going into the start of the 4A-1 conference season which begins March 18 at Bulldog Stadium in Decatur against Bergman Panthers.

Decatur Bulldog soccer schedule:

3/18 Bergman, Home 5 p.m.

3/28 Green Forest, Away 5:30p.m.

3/31 Eureka Springs, Away 5:30 p.m.

4/7 Berryville, Home 5:30 p.m.

4/12 Danville, Home 5:30 p.m.

4/14 Gentry, Home 5 p.m.

4/18 Bentonville, Away 5 p.m.

4/22 Lead Hill, Away 5 p.m.

4/25 Subiaco Academy, Home 6 p.m.

4/26 Huntsville, Home 5 p.m.

5/3 Prairie Grove, Home 5 p.m.

5/6 Dardanelle, Away 5 p.m.

Sports on 03/16/2016