West take fifth straight boys soccer win

CONWAY -- One player stood out throughout the entire match in Friday's Arkansas High School Coaches Association Boys All-Star soccer showcase -- Siloam Springs' Jack Bos for the West.

The former Panther dominated the pitch, never seeming to slow down or relax the pressure he put on the East, and his performance was rewarded as he was named the Most Valuable Player in the match.

The match was a defensive battle throughout, remaining scoreless until the 25:03 mark in the second half when Luis Torres, of El Dorado, found the top right corner of the goal on a kick from about 20 yards out to make the deciding goal.

"It felt great," he said, noting he got the pass from Cossatot River's Daniel Perez. "I told him, 'I'm open. I'm wide open,' and he gave it to me. I knew it was just one shot, just one hit, one shot, and it went in. He gave me the pass. He did a good job getting me that."

Hot Springs head coach Geoffrey Hedrick, who was among the assistant coaches for the West, said that with such a group of top players, the winning goal could have come from anyone.

"Everybody here is good," he said. "Anybody is dangerous. He just had his number. It was his day."

Hedrick, who just completed his first season at the helm of the Trojan soccer team, said he was pleased with the experience of his first All-Star week.

"It's a good experience, a very fun learning experience," he said. "I'm happy my boys made it. I'm happy Will's injury -- in fact, this is his first game back since he got injured in the conference tournament. I'm just grateful I got one more game with my guys."

The athletes surprised Hedrick in their ability to come together and play as a team in such a short amount of time.

"All these guys, they're like brothers," he said. "They spent 5 minutes with each other, and you'd think they knew each other forever. It was a good time."

Hedrick noted that the athletes from the Garland County area performed well in the match.

"They did really well," he noted. "Philip (Gayle, of Lakeside) came in injured, and Will (Yanez, of Hot Springs) came in injured as well. They were real productive."

"It was a tough game," he said. "We did the best we could, and we won. That's the good thing."

"It sucks," he said. "I'm going to miss it a lot. Not just the sport, but the friendships we've got here."

Breck Rambo, of Benton, was named the West's Most Outstanding Player, while Evan Trimble, of Conway, was award the same honor for the East.

With several opportunities for both teams in the first half, none of the shots were able to find paydirt. The second half was quite different as neither team really had any strong shots until Torres' goal.

The East continued to battle, taking two strong shots late in the game, but neither was able to find the back of the goal.

Head coach Stephen Peck, of Rogers, was unavailable for comment following the match.

Sports on 06/24/2018

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