FAYETTEVILLE -- Many qualities define champions, resiliency among them, something the 2016 Hot Springs soccer team had in abundance.
Once a talented freshman class joined the Trojans' golden group of juniors, many starting for a third straight season, fifth-year Hot Springs coach Cory Sturdivant knew he had something special.
The harmonious blend could be seen in his pair of forwards, prolific striker Erick Guadron scoring a career-high 49 goals his junior year and Josue Hernandez 21 as a freshman. In back-to-back early-season matches against Lake Hamilton and Lakeside, both Guadron and Hernandez had hat tricks, establishing one of the state's most dangerous offenses.
The Trojans rode that lethat attack to an 8-1 start, falling 1-0 to runaway Class 4A champion Dardanelle on the road. Highlighting the hot start was the 3-1 home victory March 29 over two-time defending 5A champion De Queen. Handing their Leopards their only 5A-South losses in four years as a league member, the Trojans vaulted to No. 5 overall and No. 1 in 5A in the Maxpreps Arkansas rankings.
Even after a disappointing 3-2 home loss to Warren April 8, the Trojans still won their first five conference games before losing a heartbreaker in penalty kicks in the Lakeside-hosted leg of the Spa City Derby April 19. That began a stretch of three losses in four games, punctuated by an 0-2 final week of April with a combined 8-1 scoreline at De Queen and against two-time reigning 6A champ Russellville, runner-up to Siloam Springs this year.
Although they didn't know it was going to be the regular-season finale until storms canceled a May 9 trip to Clarksville, a 3-2 victory at Hope, meaningless in their final league position, proved valuable in pointing the Trojans in the right direction into the state tournament they were set to co-host with Lakeside. Hot Springs concluded its schedule with a tough road win, road teams going a combined 3-5 among top-four matchups in rugged 5A-South.
Hot Springs' postseason effort reflected its run through the rest of the year, starting with 6-1 routs of Batesville and Greenbrier. But Lakeside provided a much stiffer challenge in the semifinal rubber match, taking a one-goal lead in both halves including a 2-1 scoreline in the second half that was the winning amount of their 2014 semifinal meeting.
But the Trojans came back from each deficit, showing they can overcome adversity. So when they received a similar challenge from another school featuring blue and gold, Valley View, in their first championship appearance Saturday at Razorback Field, the Trojans knew they could come back from a pair of one-goal deficits -- even with the enhanced drama.
Hernandez, who headed in the winning goal against Lakeside, struck the first equalizer against Valley View, but, like the first against the Rams, the deadlock lasted just three minutes.
Then in the final eight minutes, Guadron clinched his plaque for most valuable player, starting with the second equalizer on a perfectly timed run and pass from Hernandez (Guadron assisting on the first goal).
Guadron, one short of the single-season state record of Central Arkansas Christian's Eric Bentley's, wasn't able to score the winning goal but still blasted a shot from the top of the box that Valley View goalkeeper Andrew Bates (eight saves) could only deflect. Backup forward Johnny Vazquez kneed in the rebound for a 3-2 lead in the 75th minute.
With both the crowd and players on the bench chanting "sí se puede (yes, we can)," Hot Springs absorbed Valley View's late charge. Trojan keeper Mannie Santillan, struggling a little down the stretch, had his best game of the postseason with five saves, the Blazers only scoring on a pair of defensive miscues.
Ball distribution was the goaltender's strongest asset, often pinpointing with punts Hernandez and Guadron on the other end of the largest surface the Trojans have played on this season. It was fitting that Santillan's final goal kick would produce Hot Springs' final assist of the season, finding a single-marked Guadron in the 79th minute while the rest of the Blazers were pulled forward.
Guadron got around the defender and away from a charging Bates, slotting home the clincher for the 136th goal of his career.
"We talked to them at halftime, and we told them that we weren't down a goal, we spotted them a goal," Sturdivant said. "We took that attitude in there, and we told the kids that no matter what, focus and treat the game like it's 0-0."
Sturdivant yelled that after almost every goal allowed, leading to what he and his players dreamed about -- a state championship.
Sports on 05/24/2016