GRIZZLIES MOVE INTO FIRST PLACE IN 7A-CENTRAL

Northside opened 7A-Central play with a tough loss to Bryant on penalty kicks. Ever since that defeat, the Grizzlies have put together a dominating run through the conference. Then on Thursday, Northside took over first place. The Grizzlies broke open a tight first half with two goals early in the second half to build a 3-0 lead, and Northside went on to a 4-1 win at Mayo-Thompson Stadium against a Cabot squad which came in with a perfect conference record. Northside (7-3-1, 5-1) has now won five straight games in the conference, winning each of those by at least two goals as well as posting three shutouts during that stretch. “They’re starting to definitely play as a team and I knew that once we started to do that, things would start coming our way,” Northside coach Mauricio Maciel said. “Definitely this game is about connecting the dots and they’re thinking in those terms. “We have kept good possession and of course, put ourselves in front of the goal creating opportunities.” After the loss to Bryant to open conference play, the Grizzlies admitted it was a wake-up call. “We played with a little more hunger,” Northside senior midfielder Jose Paredes said. “We’ve played harder every game and we don’t take anything for granted and from the get-go, we’ve started playing our best game.” That was indeed the case going into and also during Thursday’s 7A-Central showdown. “We were playing as a team, we passed the ball, we had real good placement with the ball and we just finished them when we had those chances. ... Warming up, we were focused and we were communicating, telling each other what we needed to go for the game and we were just ready to play,” Paredes said. The Grizzlies attacked early, though they came up short on several shot chances. Then midway through the first half, off of a corner kick, a hard shot from senior Jason Forsey deflected off of Cabot’s goalkeeper and into the net to put Northside up, 1-0. “It was like a shot cross and Jason Forsey put enough power in it to where the goalkeeper couldn’t handle that and it went off his gloves backpost and into the net,” Maciel said. It remained 1-0 until the opening minutes of the second half. With more than 32 minutes left, sophomore Jarvin Nieto blasted a shot for a 2-0 advantage. Less than three minutes later, another sophomore, Ricky Iturriaga, found the net as the lead grew to 3-0. Then with 23:11 remaining, sophomore forward Christian Chavez took a feed from midfielder Luis Paredes near the net and kicked it in, making it 4-0 in favor of the Grizzlies. “We were not desperate trying to get behind their defense as quickly as possible,” Maciel said. “Instead, we tried to build the opportunity until it was there for us; then we went to goal, so patience was key for us.” Although Northside lost its shutout just past the midway point of the second half, senior goalkeeper Eric Flores still came up with some big saves all night. Perhaps his biggest save came with less than 10 minutes left in the first half and Northside hanging on to a 1-0 lead. A free kick attempt by the Panthers (8-3-1, 4-1) from nearly 20 yards out began to curve toward the upper left corner of the net, but Flores timed his jump and was able to deflect the ball with his hand, keeping the Grizzlies in front. Flores also had a couple of stops inside the final 15 minutes of play. “He’s been a really good surprise for us,” Maciel said of Flores. “He’s a senior, but not having played so many minutes last year, you wouldn’t think he would be responding that way but he is; he’s rising to the occasion after not having played on the varsity team last year.” The Grizzlies will conclude the first half of conference play on Tuesday with a game at Southside. Northside 0, Cabot 0 (Northside wins on penalty kicks, 3-1) GIRLS — The Lady Bears have been making a habit of playing 7A-Central games which have been decided on penalty kick shootouts. They’re also winning those games. For the second time in as many nights, Northside prevailed on penalty kicks. The Lady Bears (4-6-1, 3-3) have played four shootouts in conference play and have won three of those, also winning Wednesday night at North Little Rock. The latest came on Thursday when both Northside and Cabot (6-6-1, 2-3) were unable to score a goal in both halves of regulation. Cabot missed its first penalty kick, but on Northside’s first try, senior Amy Franco delivered. The Lady Panthers then made a goal on their second try, but Northside regained the advantage on a successful shot from senior Alejandra Parga. On the Lady Panthers’ third attempt, Northside senior goalkeeper Anna Ybarra swatted the shot away. The Lady Bears then made it a two-goal advantage on a shot from Citlali Aceves. Cabot misfired on the fourth try, which sealed the win for the Lady Bears. Ybarra made several saves on the night. “Anna has been big for us not only in regulation games, but in the times that we have gone to penalty kicks,” Maciel, also the Lady Bears’ coach, said.

GRIZZLIES MOVE INTO FIRST PLACE IN 7A-CENTRAL

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 4/6/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Aaron Shaffer