CENTERTON -- After defeating the Life Way Warriors, 3-1, March 3 at Bulldog Stadium, the Decatur Bulldogs hoped for a repeat victory in Centerton April 17. But it was not to be as Life Way turned the tables on Decatur, defeating the Bulldogs by two in the 80-minute contest.
Life Way aggressively attacked the Decatur net several times throughout the first half, effectively shutting down the Bulldog defense. When the half ended 40 minutes later, the Warriors held a two-point lead over a stunned Bulldog soccer team.
The Bulldogs tried to come back in the second half, managing one goal at the 20-minute mark by William Barrios. They trailed by one.
A few minutes later, the Warriors answered with two goals, taking a two-point lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
Decatur attacked the goal, hitting 1 of 13 times in the match. They were unable to recover, and the Life Way Warriors defeated the Bulldogs, 3-1.
Decatur 9,
Lead Hill 1
Decatur fared much better April 20 when the Bulldogs traveled east to take on the Tigers in a conference match at Tiger Stadium in Lead Hill.
The Bulldogs pulled together after the Life Way loss and went on the attack, scoring three goals in the first half and six in the second while allowing the Tigers only one goal. The Decatur Bulldogs defeated the Lead Hill Tigers by eight.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Jason Gomez was red carded in the second half and would not be allowed to play in the Green Forest contest April 23.
Moreno, Barrios, and Gomez each had two goals. Rubi, Abel Gomez and Carlos Hernandez had one. Sebastian Perez had three saves.
The Decatur Bulldogs return to Bulldog Stadium April 26 for the final home game of the regular season when they face the Bergman Panthers at 5 p.m. The senior boys and girls will be honored prior to the start of the match.
Past games
The Bulldogs' opponent on April 9 was the Huntsville Eagles. Early in the first half, the Bulldogs scored on a goal by William Barrios. Later in the half, the Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead on a goal by Jason Gomez. Huntsville scored with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half to trail the Bulldogs by one at the break.
In the second half, Huntsville was able to slip another shot past Decatur goalie Sebastian Perez to tie the contest at two all. With less than 10 minutes in the match, the Bulldogs pulled ahead of the Eagles on three goals by Jose Rubi, Kelvin Moreno and Gomez, giving Decatur a 5-2 victory over Huntsville.
Decatur 2,
Danville 3
The Danville Little Johns rolled into Decatur April 10 for another conference matchup at Bulldog Stadium. Danville was the first to score, late in the first half, putting the ball past Decatur goalie Lauro Molina for a 1-0 lead. Neither team was able to score for the remainder of the half.
Early in the second half, Decatur's William Barrios kicked one into the net to tie the match at one each. As time expired in regulation play, the game was still tied, 1-1, sending it into kickoff.
The goalkeepers from Decatur and Danville had to face five of the best shooters from each team. Molina, who had six saves for the evening, was up first for the Bulldogs. His counterpart, Jarrett May, who had eight saves, was up for the Little Johns.
May was able to block three Decatur kicks, while Molina blocked two, giving the Danville Little Johns a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs.
Prairie Grove 6,
Decatur 3
Coming off a three-match winning streak, the Decatur boys faced two worthy adversaries in hopes of adding two more victories to the win column. But Prairie Grove and Berryville had different ideas.
Up first were the Prairie Grove Tigers in a senior-varsity match at Bulldog Stadium in Decatur April 3.
Last year's contest in Prairie Grove ended after only three minutes when a violent thunderstorm forced the cancellation of the match. In this contest, a cold front earlier in the day dropped temperatures into the lower forties, making for miserable playing conditions.
Decatur took control of the first half, attempted 12 shots at the goal. About halfway through the half, a goal by William Barrios put Decatur on the scoreboard, 1-0. The Tigers answered late in the half with a goal to tie the match at one each going into the break.
Ten minutes into the second half, James Gomez drove the ball downfield and into the net for the Bulldogs' second score of the contest, taking a 2-1 lead into the final 10 minutes of the contest.
It looked as though the Bulldogs would make it four in a row as time clicked off the clock. With less than five minutes remaining, Prairie Grove gained control of the ball at midfield and drove it downfield and past Decatur goalie Roger Hernandez for the tie, 2-2. Time ran out before either team could score again, sending the contest into a kickoff.
In a kickoff, four of the five Tigers players hit their mark while only Jason Gomez was able to kick past the Prairie Grove goalie. The Tigers took the victory, 6-3.
Berryville 6,
Decatur 1
The Bulldogs traveled to Berryville to take on the Bobcats at Bobcat Stadium April 5.
The Bulldogs were able to score in the first half on a goal by Jimmy Mendoza, but this was the only time Decatur was able to score during the contest. The Bobcats scored four times in the first and two times in the second half for a 6-1 victory over the Bulldogs.
Sports on 04/25/2018