Benton girls roll to soccer victory, 6-2

Story by Sean Saunders of The Hot Springs Sentinel Record

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

PEARCY -- Although not dominant, the Benton girls soccer team had two standout individual performers Tuesday.

Annah Kate Smith scored three goals and Julia Dick recorded three assists in a 6-2 conference victory over host Lake Hamilton at Bank of the Ozarks Field.

Benton got going quickly, Kinley Ritter netting a 45-yard free kick in the second minute. Then the Lady Panthers (5-1, 4-1) began an onslaught of through balls, Dick lobbing a long pass to Smith in the 13th minute for a breakaway that made it 2-0.

In the 17th minute, Madison McVey served a through ball to Smith, pushing the advantage to 3-0. In the 22nd minute, Dick served another through pass, Hattie Mahoney finishing.

Lake Hamilton responded in the 26th minutes, Logan Keener bending a 20-yard free kick into the top-right corner to make it 4-1.

"Those are great," Lake Hamilton coach Stacey Scott said. "Those just lift your spirits, when you have a goal like that. Any goal for us is important."

The goal seemed to energize the Lady Wolves, keeping the ball in Benton's end of the field for stretches though allowing a long pass to Mahoney down the near sideline. Mahoney crossed to Abby Walker in the 39th minute for a 5-1 halftime lead.

"We came out and played a lot better in the second half," Scott said. "We had more shots on goal, and we started doing a lot of the things we've been working on in practice. We just fell short."
Keener scored a second goal in the 48th minute, Daya Ibarra supplying a free kick.

"She's huge for us," Scott said. "She plays a key leadership position for us. We depend on her experience on the field."

Smith completed her hat trick on a pass from Dick in the 65th minute, an offsides penalty nullifying a
later Benton goal.

Lake Hamilton goalkeeper Jasmine Garcia finished with seven saves, facing 20 shots.

Lake Hamilton travels to Little Rock Parkview on Friday.

​Sports on 04/06/2016

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