Back-to-back losses have dropped the Southside girls into fourth place in the 7A-Central.

Since beating Northside, 2-0, on April 11, the Mavericks have lost two in a row to Conway (4-6) and Cabot (10-0), dropping the team to 5-4 in the standings — two full games behind Little Rock Central and Mount St. Mary.

Southside, 11-6 overall, controls its own destiny by playing four of its final five games at home. The Mavs host Bryant today and Mount St. Mary on Friday.

“It is definitely nice to see four of five home games left on the schedule,” Southside coach Jeremy Davis said. “We feel like we have played every game on the road. It will be nice not riding a bus for a couple hours before we play.

“The 7A-Central conference is like the SEC West. Every night is big, so we are excited to be playing in front of our fans.”

Like his players, Davis was disappointed Friday’s home match with North Little Rock was canceled.

But, with Southside hosting the 7A state tournament, the team will make just one more trip to Little Rock.

“We wanted to play Friday night to get rid of the feeling what we have had the past couple of games,” Davis said. “We have been playing nicely, just not getting the results we have hoped for.”

The Southside boys, meanwhile, have climbed over the .500 mark (10-8, 5-4) in conference play with back-to-back wins against Conway and Cabot. A win over Bryant today would keep the Mavericks within striking distance of the top three seeds, Northside, Little Rock Catholic and Conway.

Northside

The Grizzlies now know what’s at stake in the final two weeks of conference play.

Northside controls its own destiny in regards to winning the 7A-Central and getting the conference’s top seed at the 7A State Tournament, which will be played next month at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.

The Grizzlies claimed sole possession of first place in the conference after Friday’s dramatic shootout win at Little Rock Catholic, avenging a home loss to the Rockets earlier this season. Both teams scored a goal apiece in regulation; then Northside (15-2, 9-1) posted a 6-5 edge in the shootout to claim the win, which also made it seven straight for the Grizzlies since that earlier defeat to Catholic.

But Northside coach Mauricio Maciel cautioned there’s still a long way to go before the Grizzlies can be able to lay claim to a conference championship.

“We are excited about the possibility to win a conference championship; of course, we still have to face good teams before we can do that,” Maciel said.

“We have to be disciplined about playing each game with equal focus and intensity.”

Three of Northside’s last four conference matches will be inside the Fort Smith city limits, starting today at Mayo-Thompson Stadium when the Grizzlies take on Conway. The boys will play first, followed by the girls.
