SBLive Arkansas Top 25 boys soccer rankings (May 8)
By George Mitchell
The regular season has ended and the state tournaments for all classes begin Thursday.
Fort Smith Southside crashes the Top 25 at No. 10 after defeating No. 3 Fayetteville. The Mavericks are likely to have the No. 4 seed from the 6A-West going into the state tournament.
Pulaski Academy defeated Little Rock Christian in the season finale to clinch the 5A-Central title.
Little Rock Catholic blasts to the No. 9 spot.
All the brackets for the state tournament can be found at https://scorebooklive.com/arkansas/soccer/brackets.
1. Conway (17-3)
The Wampus Cats finished last week 2-1 but still clinched the No. 1 seed for the state tournament and the Class 6A-Central title. Conway dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 9 Little Rock Catholic.
2. Russellville (19-2-2)
The Cyclones took care of business to claim sole ownership of the 5A-West title after defeating No. 15 Van Buren 3-1. Russellville faces Batesville in the fist round on Thursday.
3. Fayetteville (12-3-3)
The Bulldogs began the week with a loss to upstart Fort Smith Southside but defeated No. 3 Bentonville in the make-up game. The Bulldogs have the No. 1 seed for the tournament and face the winner of the Cabot-Rogers game on Friday.
4. Bentonville (12-4-1)
The Tigers are looking to regain some of that momentum they had at the start of the 6A-West Conference season. The team hasn’t had back-to-back wins in three weeks, as it dropped a 2-1 decision to Fayetteville on May 5.
5. Springdale (9-2-3)
The Bulldogs have won three consecutive games and are coming into the state tournament hot. The team is likely to dispatch LR Central on Thursday and face the No. 2 seed from the 6A-Central, LR Catholic, on Friday.
6. Rogers (8-5-4)
The Mounties tied Heritage last week but dropped to the No. 5 spot in the state seeding. Rogers faces Cabot in the first round.
7. Springdale Har-Ber (3-4-3)
The Wildcats held on and will be the No. 6 seed in the state tournament. Har-Ber faces No. 23 Bryant in the first round on Thursday.
8. De Queen (14-2)
The Leopards defeated Bauxite 0-0 (5-3) in the season finale. De Queen battles Lisa Academy in the first round.
9. LR Catholic (12-4-4)
The Rockets keep flying and now have won six of their last eight games, including the last four consecutive games. LR Catholic has a first-round bye and will face the winner of the Cabot-Rogers match on Friday.
10. Fort Smith Southside (7-6-3)
The Mavericks made the wins happen when they needed them and are now in the Class 6A state tournament. Southside has defeated seven ranked opponents this season, including a win against storied rival, Northside.
11. Rogers Heritage (7-5-1)
The War Eagles tied Rogers in the season finale and will miss the state tournament.
12. Fort Smith Northside (7-7-1)
The Grizzlies had a rough conference season. The team came into the 6A-West with a target on its back and will miss the postseason this year after playing in the state title game last season.
13. Pulaski Academy (14-0-2)
The Bruins toppled No. 14 LR Christian 5-0 for the 5A-Central title and the No. 1 spot for the state tournament.
14. LR Christian Academy (13-3-2)
The Warriors finished second in the 5A-Central. LR Christian wrapped up the season with a win against eStem.
15. Van Buren (10-5-3)
The Pointers had a six-game win string snapped in their loss to Russellville. The Pointers return to the state tournament and face Greene County Tech in the first round.
16. Bentonville West (9-8-4)
The Wolverines ended the season on a winning note by defeating Har-Ber, 2-0. The team misses the playoffs this season.
17. Lakeside (15-2-2)
The Rams finished with the No. 1 seed and the 5A-South title. The squad rolled past Hamburg and Episcopal in a pair of non-conference games in preparation for the Class 5A state tournament.
18. Hot Springs (12-3-4)
The Trojans’ win and the Lake Hamilton loss vaulted the team to the No. 2 spot in the 5A-South. Hot Springs will face Vilonia in the first round.
19. Lake Hamilton (12-4-4)
The Wolves began last week with a loss to El Dorado and dropped to the No. 3 seed in the 5A-South. Lake Hamilton faces No. 14 Little Rock Christian in the first round, which could be the best first-round game this week.
20. Clarksville (13-2-1)
The Panthers face Crossett in Thursday's Class 4A state tournament first round and have a good chance to reach the semifinals.
21. Brookland (17-2-1)
The Bearcats finish the regular season with a nine-game winning string and battle Nashville in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament .
22. Joe T. Robinson (13-1-4)
The Senators defeated Lisa Academy West in the season finale. Robinson takes on Morrilton in the first round and could see Clarksville in the second round.
23. Searcy (16-2-1)
The Lions rolled past West Memphis 12-0 to secure the 5A-East title. The squad has a make-up game against Batesville. Searcy will still be the No. 1 seed for the tournament, win, lose, or tie, and Batesville will be No. 4.
24. Bryant (11-5-5)
The Hornets had a four-game win string snapped against Conway. BHS is still No. 3 in the seeding for the tournament and will face No. 7 Har-Ber in the first round.
25. Harding Academy (11-4-2)
The Wildcats held the No. 3 spot for the state tournament after going 2-1 last week. Harding Academy won the Class 3A title last season and battles to its first shot at a 4A title.
On the outside: Cabot, Green Forest, Dardanelle, Benton
