FAYETTEVILLE — Central Arkansas Christian exacted some revenge in the Class 4A state girls soccer final Saturday afternoon at Razorback Field. The Lady Mustangs scored less than nine minutes in and never looked back en route to a 4-1 victory over Gentry in a rematch from a year ago.
Senior Lynley Childress, who earned most valuable player honors, scored two goals - one late in the first half and another late in the second half as the Lady Mustangs (16-4-1) bottled up the Gentry offense. Childress said the quick start was key for the Lady Mustangs.
"I think we just knew we had to come out with intensity, ready more mentally and knew what we had to do and got it done," Childress said. "We wanted to score early so we would have a little control of the game and we did that."
CAC Coach Carter Lambert said his team played well together.
"We have a lot of young players," Lambert said. "Of course, you never know what you're gonna get in a final with sophomores and freshmen, but they were awesome. Our overall team play really did it for us this year.
"Gentry has two outstanding players and an outstanding coach. He's a gentleman and we really enjoy playing them."
The Lady Mustangs claimed their sixth state title and played in their fifth consecutive final, winning three.
Senior Alexa Goodlow got Central Arkansas going with a one-timer off a Gentry turnover with 31 minutes, 29 seconds left in the first half. Amalie Gunn added another on an assist from sophomore Carson Swede and the Lady Mustangs went up 2-0 with 12:58 left in the first half.
Central Arkansas Christian enjoyed a 19-10 shot advantage, including 12-4 for shots on goal. Gentry had just four shots in the first half and just one on goal.
Childress got into the act with a goal with 4:31 left in the half as CAC was in command with a 3-0 lead.
Gentry (14-4) scored only thanks to an own goal by CAC when Amber Ellis' free kick banged off a teammate's back and into the goal with 3 minutes, 16 seconds left in the first half to make the score 3-1.
Childress added a goal with under 12 minutes to set the final margin.
"The first half is what decided the game basically," Gentry Coach Fabrizio Campagnola said. "We had trouble in the back and couldn't create a lot. They overplayed us in the first half. They played well. We made some adjustments in the second half and was better. But the damage was done.
"CAC is such a good team. It's very hard to get back from 3-1. We paid for every mistake and they hardly made any."
4A State Soccer Finals
Girls
Central Arkansas Chriistian 4, Gentra 1
Gentry^1^0^--^1
Central Arkansas Christian^3^1^--^4
First Half
Cent-Alexa Goodlow, 9th minute.
Cent-Gunn, 29th minute.
Cent-Childress, 36th minute.
Gentry-Own goal, 37th minute.
Second Half
Cent-Childress, 69th minute.
Sports on 05/25/2016