Huntsville Eagles News

Saturday Huntsville took on the defending 4A Conference state champion DeQueen Leopards in the round of the Final Eight for the state soccer playoffs losing in penalty kicks 4-2.

“We knew going into the game what their game plan was going to be. They like to swarm their opponents and try to wear them down with their numbers and speed,” said Eagles Head Coach Kevin Shinn. “Watching their legions rolling onto the field was impressive but we felt fairly confident that we could play with anyone defensively. Our main concern was depth.” DeQueen has over 50 players on their roster.

“Once again, we had to depend on junior Pablo Chombo at the goalkeeper position and Seniors Weston Nelson and Ricardo Vasquez along with sophomores Zack Hawkins and Dallas Prouty to handle the defensive back positions without relief. At the midfield, where players routinely have to make 60 and 80 yard sprints over and over again throughout the 80 minute game, was where we had our biggest concerns about having enough subs. Our ironmen Seniors Marcus Dorsey and Angel Hernandez, like Hawkins and Prouty, rarely came off the field for the Eagles all season long but after having played...

Tags: angel hernandez, charles scudday, dylan white, huntsville eagles, ismail vasquez, juan hernandez, kevin shinn, marcus dorsey, matt weaver, pablo chombo, ricardo vasquez

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Friday the Huntsville Eagles took on the #2 seed out of the 3-4A Conference the St Joseph Bulldogs in the first round of the state soccer playoffs winning 4-2.

“St Joe was a physical team that tried to overpower our defense with direct attacks on our goal,” said Eagles Head Coach Kevin Shinn. “Our defense lead by Senior Weston Nelson and sophomores Zack Hawkins and Dallas Prouty were the quiet giants for us on the field today. Just like most of the season they never came off of the field playing all 100 minutes of the game. They are constantly taking a pounding for us back there defending our goal but make play after play for us. Today we had to move Senior Ricardo Vasquez back from his midfield position to help with the defense and he was incredible. Ricardo was all over the field making plays and backing up his teammates.”

Through two 40 minute halves and two 10 minute overtime periods the two teams were locked in a tight defensive struggle resulting in a 0-0 tie. This resulted in the game being decided by penalty kicks with each team choosing five players to take a shot...

Tags: angel hernandez, charles scudday, dylan white, huntsville eagles, ismail vasquez, juan hernandez, kevin shinn, marcus dorsey, matt weaver, pablo chombo, ricardo vasquez

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles finished the 2010 soccer season with a post season trip to the State playoff Tournament at Burns Park in North Little Rock. The Lady Eagles (8-8), a fourth seed from region 1, faced off against defending state champion, Conway St. Joseph, the first seed from region 3. St. Joseph (13-6) topped the Lady Eagles by the score of 6-0.

St. Joseph relied on their star forward, senior Brooke Ederlin to put Huntsville in a hole from the start. Ederlin scored two goals in the first three minutes forcing Huntsville to concentrate on shutting her down. The Huntsville defense adjusted to stop the high-powered St. Joseph attack for the next thirty-two minutes until St. Joseph exploded for three quick goals at the end of the half to take a 5-0 lead.

“We thought that we had a pretty good game plan to stop their passing game,” said Huntsville coach Steve Harwood. “But when that forward of theirs dribbled through our defense and scored those two quick goals, we had to scramble around to get that stopped. After the opening shock, Ashley Johnson did a good job of closing her down but by that time they had...

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Friday night was Senior Night for the Huntsville Eagles soccer team who hosted Eureka Springs in a 1 – 4A conference showdown with a #3 seed in the state playoffs resting on the outcome.  The Eagles, who were ranked #4 in the state going into the game, came out strong and dominated the contest, winning 6-0 in the final game at Eagle Field for ten Eagle players and one manager

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Eight minutes into the game senior Ricardo Vasquez placed a long throw-in in front of the goal where sophomore forward Matt Weaver pressured the Eureka keeper into making a mistake giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Just over two minutes later Vasquez was fouled inside the Highlander box leading to a penalty kick by senior Angel Hernandez who lifted the Eagle lead to 2-0.

The Eagles added two more scores before the half with Vasquez placing another throw in front of the Eureka goal and senior midfielder Marcus Dorsey finishing it into the net to raise the score to 3-0.

Less than a minute later, freshman Ismail Vasquez scored off of an assist from senior midfielder Raul Tinoco sending the Eagles into the locker room...

Tags: huntsville eagles soccer, kevin shinn

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles soccer teams finished up the regular season on a high note with a Senior Night victory over Eureka Springs by the score of 3-2. Huntsville ended the season with an 8-7 record and a 3-4 conference mark.

Huntsville spotted the visitors a 2-0 lead before coming back strong in the second half to take the win. Senior Miranda Gabbard started the second-half heroics with a chip over the Lady Highlander goalkeeper. Freshman Stephanie Elsey tied the game when a pass from junior Kelsey Cooley gave her an open look at the goal. Cooley then made a pass to sophomore forward Catey May who hit the game winner.

The seniors, Miranda Gabbard, Katie Lovin, DeeAnne Powell and Cassie Corlett, were honored during a ceremony after the game. Senior manager Vanessa Martinez was also recognized.

Earlier in the week Huntsville lost 3-2 in a conference game with Berryville. Berryville drew first blood but Huntsville answered when May scored to tie up the contest. The second half saw Gabbard give Huntsville the lead at 2-1 when she cut off a goal kick and fired it back at the goalkeeper. Berryville then scored two unanswered goals to take the win....

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Last Monday night the Eagles traveled to Berryville to take on the #1 Bobcats in a 1 – 4A clash losing 3-2.

The Eagles and the Bobcats battled back and forth for the first 26 minutes of the game before Berryville scored two goals within two minutes giving them a 2-0 lead.

A minute later, Huntsville sophomore forward Matt Weaver received a long kick from junior goalkeeper Pablo Chombo and beat the Bobcat keeper up the left side of the field and scored moving the score to 2-1.

“Berryville is obviously an excellent team,” said Eagles coach Kevin Shinn.  “Our guys could have easily dropped their heads when Berryville scored those first two goals but instead they immediately battled back scoring right before the half.”

The second half started off as another defensive struggle with neither side able to establish an offensive rhythm until Berryville scored with 23:15 left in the second half moving the Bobcat advantage to 3-1.

Late in the game, Weaver tapped the ball to junior forward Juan Hernandez who took the ball and beat several Bobcat defenders and scored reducing the score to a final 3-2 margin in favor of Berryville.

“Those first two goals...

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The Huntsville Eagles Soccer team traveled east Saturday to play in the Harrison Invitational Tournament.

In the first game of the day the Eagles played conference rival Berryville losing 3-0. Berryville is currently ranked #1 in the state for the 4A. The Eagles got off to a slow start giving up three first half goals but settled down in the second half and held the Bobcats scoreless.

In the second game of the day, the Eagles took on the perennial 5A powerhouse Siloam Springs losing 3-1. Siloam jumped up to an early 1-0 lead before Senior midfielder Marcus Dorsey was able to connect with sophomore forward Matt Weaver who managed to punch the ball into the net tying the score up 1-1. Toward the end of the first half Siloam slipped a ball into the backside of the Eagle’s net to take a 2-1 lead and then added a third goal toward the end of regulation to secure a 3-1 victory for the Panthers.

The final game of the day pitted the boy’s from Huntsville against Valley View. Valley View was ranked #2 in the state in the 4A Conference coming into the weekend and battled the...

Tags: huntsville eagles, kevin shinn, valley view

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Thursday night the Eagles soccer team traveled to Green Forest for a 1 4A conference showdown and came home with a 1-1 tie.

The Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead following a lead pass from Sophomore Matt Weaver to Junior Juan Hernandez who slipped the ball left passed the Tiger goalkeeper at the 30:52 mark in the first half.

However, Green Forest managed to tie the game up with a Penalty Kick following an inadvertent hand ball in the penalty area on a Tiger corner kick with 19:22 left in the first half.

“Our defense played extremely well,” said Huntsville’s Head Coach Kevin Shinn. “Senior goalkeeper Pablo Chombo gets better every game but he has a solid defensive line in front of him.”

The Eagles defense is lead by Senior Weston Nelson at the center defender position and Senior Andy Holcombe at the Mike. Defensive backs Zack Hawkins and Dallas Prouty are both sophomores.

The second half became a defensive struggle as both teams managed shots on goal without success.

“Our offense can be explosive,” said Shinn. “But at Green Forest, we missed way too many opportunities. Opportunities we can’t afford...

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles soccer team traveled to Green Forest to take on the Lady Tigers in a nonconference game. The Lady Eagles (5-3) took a hard-fought match by the score of 3-2.

The Lady Tigers drew first blood in the match with a first-half goal that put Huntsville in a hole. The Lady Eagles battled back in the second half when senior striker Miranda Gabbard tied the score with an assist from sophomore Catey May. Gabbard increased the Lady Eagles’ lead when a pass by junior midfielder Ashley Marchand gave her an opportunity in front of the Green Forest goal. May added another Huntsville goal as she was able to keep the ball in possession, under intense defensive pressure, long enough to fire off a good shot.

Green Forest scored late in the half to pull within one goal but Huntsville was able to control the game for the win.

“We didn’t have the best first half,” said Huntsville coach Steve Harwood. “Our team was nicked up pretty good from last week and we have some kind of team-wide illness running through the ranks. As a result, several players were not available to play and others were not able...

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles soccer team put in a full week as they played four games in the first week of March. Huntsville opened with a match at Stilwell, Oklahoma. The Lady Eagles had a tough night dropping a 5-0 decision to the Lady Indians. The week improved as Huntsville visited Bergman and Eureka Springs and hosted Decatur.

Huntsville Lady Eagles Defeat Bergman

The Huntsville Lady Eagles paid a visit to Bergman and came away with a 5-1 victory. Bergman drew first blood when the Huntsville goalkeeper Kayla Royce violently collided with a Bergman forward and the ball rolled into the goal. Huntsville answered back when Ashley Marchand passed to Sophomore Catey May for the first Huntsville score. Marchand then scored on a through pass from Junior Midfielder Delia Vasquez to give the Lady Eagles the lead. Junior Jordan Costello padded the Huntsville lead when she found an open look at the goal and scored from 25 yards out to give Huntsville a 3-1 lead at the half.

May scored again in the second half and Sophomore Brynnan Diver finished the scoring when a long cross from Marchand gave her an opportunity from the left-side...

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Last Tuesday night the Huntsville Eagles rode in to Gentry for a 4A conference showdown with the Pioneers and when the night was over rode out with a 2-0 victory.

Sophomore Matt Weaver led the Eagles with two goals while Senior Ricardo Vasquez and Freshman Ismail Vasquez each contributed an assist.

“The lack of experience on our team is requiring our seniors to stand up and be leaders,” said Eagles head coach Kevin Shinn. “So far, they are doing a great job of helping keep our new guys focused.”

The Eagles offense is led by senior midfielders Marcus Dorsey, Angel Hernandez, Ricardo Vasquez, and Raul Tinoco while the defense is anchored by Weston Nelson, Andy Holcombe, and Charles Scudday.

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles soccer team notched their first win of the young season with a trip to Gentry. The Lady Eagles (1-2) came out with a 2-1 non-conference win over conference foe Gentry. The two teams were conference co-champions in the 2009 season.

The Lady Pioneers drew first blood as a shot early in the game sailed over the top of the Huntsville goalkeeper. Huntsville battled back scoring a first-half goal to tie the game. Junior Jordan Costello served up a ball to senior forward Miranda Gabbard who slipped the ball past the Gentry goalkeeper.

In the second half of the game, the Lady Eagles battled a determined Gentry squad. Sophomore Catey May was able to get a ball to Gabbard who blasted a 25-yard shot for the winning goal.

“We played better tonight than we did last week,” said Huntsville coach Steve Harwood. “Miranda (Gabbard) and Catey (May) are beginning to work together at the forward positions and when they finally get their chemistry down they should be very good. I thought that our defense did a pretty good job tonight. We still have a lot of work to do but we are moving in the right direction.”...

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The Huntsville Eagles Boy’s Soccer team opened its varsity season Friday night at home against Flippin with a 5-0 win.

Junior Striker Juan Hernandez began the scoring for the home team when he deflected a free kick off the outstretched hand of the Bobcat keeper into the back right corner of the net at the 23:12 mark for a 1-0 lead.

Less than two minutes later, Senior Raul Tinoco volleyed a long pass up the right side of the field to Senior Captain Ricardo Vasquez who chipped the ball over Flippin’s keeper lifting the Eagles to a 2-0 advantage.

With 1:33 left in the first half, Freshman Striker Ismail Vasquez broke free down the left and fired a shot into the hands of the Flippin keeper, who bobbled the ball allowing Vasquez to tap it past him into the goal sending the Eagles in at halftime with a score of 3-0.

The second half began with Ricardo Vasquez popping a pass to Ismail Vasquez streaking down the right side of the field who then managed to tap the ball under the body of the diving keeper lifting the Eagles to a 4-0 score with 38:39 left...

Tags: kevin shinn, ricardo vasquez, weston nelson

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The Eagles Soccer program had a great year in 2009 and we are all very proud of the contributions made by our graduated seniors. But life moves on and we are now turning our attention to the future. Many of our boys are playing on Saturdays in the Madison Soccer League and elsewhere. Our soccer camp is just over a month away and many are already hard at work in the weight room. As the head coach for the boy's team, it gives me a great sense of pride to see how hard our guys are working to get ready for next season.

I would really like to thank Ms. Tanya Nelson and ms. Debbie Diver for their wonderful work in providing our team with a spectacular awards banquet. Great job ladies!!! But I also have a request to all of those who attended the festivities that night, I would really appreciate seeing everyone who was kind enough to be at the awards ceremony also be at our home games. It means a great deal to our players to look up into those stands and see people there to support them.

Huntsville has the greatest fans anywhere and once the...

Tags: debbie diver, huntsville eagles soccer., kevin shinn, tanya nelson

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2009 Boy's

Angel Hernandez

2009 Girl's

Arial Jackson

Cambre Awtrey

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All State

Jeff Fuller and Sean Templeton

All Conference

Jeff Fuller, Sean Templeton, Michael Brown, Angel Hernadez, Joey Garland, and Matt Weaver.

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All State

Cambre Awtrey, Jordan Costello, and Miranda Gabbard.

All Conference

Cambre Awtrey, Jordan Costello, Miranda Gabbard, Arial Jackson, Catey May, Emily Reeves, DeeAnne Powell

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Friday night, the Huntsville Eagles drove into Carroll County to take on the Eureka Springs Highlanders in a 4A Conference showdown. When they left, the Eagles had wrapped up conference play with a 5-2 record and a possible second place finish. Gentry plays at Berryville this Friday night. If Gentry wins, Huntsville will end the season tied for second. A Berryville win would drop the Eagles to a third place finish for the second year in a row.

The Highlanders quickly turned the contest into a tough defensive struggle on their end of the field dropping 10 players back in an effort to stifle the Eagles offense.

“Tonight was a big victory for us,” said Eagles head coach Kevin Shinn. “Eureka had decided to try to shut us out and take the game into a shootout. Our guys responded well and came up with a big score to put the game away.”

Senior Eagle forward Jeff Fuller earned the winning goal for the Eagles with senior Michael Brown providing the assist.

Defensively, the Eagles earned their third conference shut out with senior defenders Sean Templeton and Austin Campbell, and sophomore Andy Dotson leading the way....

Tags: huntsville eagles, kevin shinn, soccer

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The Lady Eagles faced a determined foe as the Eureka Springs team played a strong defensive game against the Lady Eagles offense. The Lady Eagles broke the scoring drought late in the first half when senior forward Cambre Awtrey was able to break loose from three determined defenders to net the goal.

In the second half the Lady Eagles added two goals to give the Huntsville girls a 3-0 shutout. Awtrey scored her 30^th goal of the season when a cross by senior forward Lisa Parker gave her an open look at the goal. The final goal of the game came when freshman defender Catey May fired a hard shot...

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles soccer team hosted Gentry on March 13. In a non-conference match the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie.

Gentry drew first blood when the Lady Pioneers scored on a quick hitter in front of the Huntsville goal. Sophomore Ashley Marchand tied the score when a pass from senior Cambre Awtrey gave her a one-on-one with the Gentry keeper.

In the second half Huntsville played an aggressive game, keeping the Lady Pioneers in their defensive third most of the half. Huntsville took multiple shots at the Gentry goal but could not find the net.  An opportunity for Huntsville came when a Gentry defender fouled Awtrey in the penalty box. Awtrey made her pay with a perfect penalty kick to grab the lead. The lead was short lived as Gentry scored on a long, high shot that carried over the Huntsville keeper.

“That was a tough game,” said Huntsville Coach Steve Harwood. “We played most of the second half down on their end of the field, but we just missed too many shots. I thought our wing midfielders (Lisa Parker and DeeAnne Powell) played well in the second half to give us a good chance to...

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The 5-A Harrison Lady Goblins paid a visit to Huntsville’s Eagle Stadium on February 19. The Lady Eagles handled the high-powered Harrison squad for most of the first half before the wheels came off late for a 1-7 loss. Cambre Awtrey scored the lone Huntsville goal with only four minutes off the clock when a pass from Jordan Costello in front of the goal left her one-on-one with the Harrison keeper. Huntsville (1-2-1) battled Harrison hard until late in the half when Harrison was able to tie the game. Harrison then scored three quick goals to leave Huntsville down 4-1 at the half.

“We had a game plan to try and control Harrison’s standard game, and we did a good job,” said Huntsville coach Harwood. “But they are a team that will find a way to beat you. If you stop them in one area they will figure out a way to get around your defense. That’s what they did tonight. We couldn’t find an answer to their adjustments.”

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles hosted 5-A Stilwell, Oklahoma on February 17. The teams battled to a 2-2 tie.

The first half was a defensive struggle. Neither side was able to successfully penetrate the defensive lines of the opposing team. The second half was a much different story. Huntsville came out of the halftime break with strong offensive effort when sophomore Jordan Costello passed to freshman forward Brynnan Diver who passed in turn to senior Cambre Awtrey for the initial goal of the contest. Stilwell answered the challenge on a corner kick goal to tie the match.

Awtrey gave the Lady Eagles (1-1-1) a lead when she dribbled 60 yards down the left side to go one-on-one with the keeper and finished with a hard shot to the top corner of the goal. Stilwell as able to tie the score as a header from another corner kick found the back of the net. Stilwell had an opportunity to win the game when with 10 seconds to play a handball call went against the Lady Eagles but the resulting penalty kick went wide left.

“Cambre made a great play on her second goal, that was a great individual effort,” said Huntsville coach...

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles traveled to Van Buren on February 12 to take on the Class 7-A Lady Pointers. When the dust cleared the Lady Eagles lost 0-1.  Van Buren scored in the first five minutes to put the Lady Eagles in a hole.

“ We played an excellent defensive game, if you don’t count that early goal,” said  Harwood. “ I thought that our keeper, Arial Jackson, did a great job. She gets better each game.”

Harwood also praised the defensive line of Catie May, Miranda Gabbard and Katie Lovin.

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Tags: andy dotson, angel hernandez, huntsville eagles, jeff fuller, jeff neal, joey garfield, kevin shinn, michael brown, pablo chombo, ricardo vasquez, sean templeton, van buren

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The Huntsville Lady Eagles soccer team kicked off the 2009 soccer season on February 9 with a 3-1 victory over Clarksville at home. The Lady Eagles wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as senior forward Cambre Awtrey scored the initial goal only seven minutes into the contest. Sophomore Ashley Marchand picked up an assist on the play. Later in the first half Awtrey raced through the Clarksville defense blasted a hard shot past the goalkeeper, the ball rebounded off the goalpost back to Awtrey who finished the play with a shot to the back of the net.

The Lady Panthers tightened the game on a score to begin the second half. A Clarksville cross went through the defense and an alert Panther forward pushed it into the Huntsville goal.  Huntsville answered when Awtrey received a through pass from senior Lisa Parker giving her a one-on-one with the keeper and scored with a shot to the right corner to end the scoring at 3-1.

“We played a very good first game,” said Huntsville coach Steve Harwood. “Cambre (Awtrey) picked up where she left off last season, she can be hard to handle.”

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