So far, so good for the Northside Lady Bears soccer squad.

The Lady Bears continued their dominant start to the early goings in the season as they posted their third consecutive shutout win on Friday.

Northside got goals in both halves as the Lady Bears went on to a 2-0 win in the opening round of the Fort Smith Invitational soccer tournament Friday afternoon at Southside’s Jim Rowland Stadium.

In three games already this season, the Lady Bears (3-0) have defeated their foes by an aggregate total of 24-0. That included a 15-goal showing in last week’s opener against Poteau.

Goals were at a premium in Northside’s latest win. But with the defense continuing to perform stellar, the Lady Bears necessarily didn’t need to score a lot.

Northside did have some chances to score in the opening half as the Lady Bears were able to control possession. Finally, the Lady Bears broke through on a goal from senior Cassandra Cervantes.

That 1-0 lead held up until halftime.

It was more of the same in the second half, as Northside continued to have several shot opportunities but were unable to extend the lead.

Then, the Lady Bears were finally able to enjoy insurance as Brianna Lopez snuck one through the net for the pivotal two-goal lead. Lopez, a sophomore, was coming off a four-goal performance in Tuesday’s win at Van Buren.


Northside then finished off its third straight shutout. Another indication of the dominant defensive performance was the fact that Springdale didn’t get a single shot on goal.

In contrast, the Lady Bears finished with 11 shots on goal.

Northside’s boys played late Friday night in its first-round Fort Smith Invitational game, playing DeQueen at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.

The Fort Smith Invitational continues on Saturday beginning at 8:30 a.m. with games at both Northside and Southside. The finals are scheduled to get under way at 7 p.m.
