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Conway claims Arkansas 6A boys soccer title with 3-1 win against Fort Smith Northside

Two goals from game MVP Will Childers turn out to be the difference.

By Buck Ringgold | Photos by Braeden Botts

BENTON — Will Childers entered Saturday’s 6A boys soccer state championship game with something to prove. 

A year ago, on this very field, the Conway junior experienced the pain of losing the state title. He was determined not to endure a repeat. 

Childers immediately set the tone with a goal two minutes in. He then added another goal early in the second half as Conway built a 2-0 lead.

The Wampus Cats made that stand as they captured their first state crown since 2008 with a 3-1 win against Fort Smith Northside at the Benton Athletic Complex.

Afterward, Childers reveled in the satisfaction of the completed task at hand, even grabbing a school flag at one point and energetically waving it around.

“It feels a lot better after last year; we lost here and I couldn’t feel that way again,” Childers said. “I had to come out here and get revenge for my seniors last year.”

“We just finished and played our game (Saturday). We defended, we knew we had to shut down, we just played our game and played our hearts out; we laid everything out on the line and it won us the game.”

Childers had his first goal just 2:13 into the contest, taking advantage of a corner kick and finding the bottom left corner.

That 1-0 score stood until the early minutes of the second half. Once again, Childers found the net, finding a loose ball in the box and heading a deflection which landed in the bottom right corner.

“He’s our leading goal scorer; I think he’s got 19 goals now this year,” Conway coach Matthew Page said of Childers, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. “He’s a junior, coming back next year. He’s one of those kids who thinks he has a shot every time, down the field, to score. … He’s shown that this year.

“Last year, he started off with nine goals, and from nine to 19, that’s a heck of an improvement and I think he’s the best goal scorer in the whole state.”

But Conway (16-1-3) couldn’t anticipate getting the championship trophy just yet.

With barely 20 minutes remaining, Northside connected on a shot from sophomore Michael Trinidad, cutting the Wampus Cat lead in half.

The Grizzlies (12-4-3) continued putting the pressure on Conway, delivering several chances. But Wampus Cat goalkeeper Jackson Tucker came up with some saves, while a pair of Grizzly headers missed the mark.

“We just didn’t put as many balls (on top of the box) as I wish we would have, but yes, they’ve got a good goalkeeper, kept them in the game a couple of times,” Northside coach Mauricio Maciel said. “I do wish we had put a little bit more balls on top of that box.”

Conway then sealed the game with 4:55 left, when Ty Fisher successfully placed a lengthy direct free kick, covering at least 50 yards. The ball soared past Northside’s goalkeeper and into the top back part of the net for the decisive two-goal advantage.

“The third goal, that’s what Ty does,” Page said. “He’s always got a chance when he hits the ball; the ball comes off the foot real well.”

Saturday’s win also avenged the Wampus Cats’ lone loss of the season, which came at Northside in 6A-Central action, 5-3, in late April.

“You can have any system you want, but if you don’t have kids that will buy in, it’s for naught,” Page said. “So again, it’s about these kids, they did a terrific job and to end it the way they did was perfect. Beating a team that was the only team to beat us this year was perfect.”

Like Childers, Page was determined to finally get a state title, his first as a coach.

“I started at Greenbrier and got to two semifinals with some heartbreak in between, and we made it to quarterfinals, state finals, everything in between, (won) conference championships and then finally getting the final one, the state championship,” he said.

Maciel was hoping to add a third state title to his resume as Northside’s coach, having previously won titles in 2013 and again in 2018. He does return a bevy of players for next season, graduating only three seniors.

“This is a very young team, with only three seniors, and sometimes when the game’s on the line like it was (Saturday), you do need a little bit more character, but hat’s off to these guys,” Maciel said. “They beat a good Springdale team and a good (Rogers) Heritage team, and just being here, it was very remarkable and they need to walk out of here with their heads up high because they are a good team.”

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