THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

No one wants to lose two games going into the state tournament. Van Buren coach Nathan Almond is no exception. But the Pointers, despite faltering to Bentonville West on Wednesday night at Blakemore Field, will still be a No. 4 seed when they likely face Southside next week at the 6A state tournament. The Wolverines scored two second half goals en route to a 3-1 victory, dropping Van Buren to 7-6 in league play. “I felt like we were OK at 1-1,” Almond said. “I felt like we still had a couple of opportunities at that point. That kid, he just wanted to score, to make it 2-1. Really, the backbreaker was the penalty kick at the end. The game was over at that point. We weren’t playing well enough to score goals to be able to tie it back up.” Van Buren took a 1-0 lead on an early PK. Junior Isaac Delafuente gave the Pointers a 1-0 lead at the 30:16 mark of the first half. The Pointers were aggressive early, moving the ball well into the Wolverines end of the field. But West, which beat Van Buren twice this season, despite finishing as the No. 5 seed, forced a 1-1 halftime lead when Collins Higgins curled one in from 30 yards out. It remain tied until sophomore Tom Schultz put the visitors ahead, 2-1, with 27:16 left in the match. Knowing they were locked in as the No. 4 seed, win or lose, may hurt his team, Almond said. “I think they’re comfortable, which I hate to see,” he said. “You don’t want to lose this one, then have to go up and play (13-0) Springdale. You certainly don’t want to take two losses going into the state tournament, so you feel a little bit of pressure going up to Springdale. I think some of that is they were a little comfortable, and they played that way.” Delafuente’s goal gives him a school-record 33 for the season. He long ago broke the previous mark of 22 more than a month ago.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

FLAT POINTERS DROP HOME FINALE TO WOLVERINES

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 5/2/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford