NORTHSIDE BOYS READY TO HOST 7A STATE

The last time Northside hosted a state soccer tournament, the Grizzlies weren’t in it and current coach Mauricio Maciel was in charge of Southside’s program. Today, the 7A State Tournament returns to Mayo-Thompson Stadium for the first time since 2012. Maciel’s Grizzlies, who drew a bye from today’s opening round and will begin play Friday in the quarterfinals, are riding a current 11-game winning streak, capped by them winning the outright 7A-Central title. “Right from the get go, I told the kids this year that we are hosting it and we want to make sure that Northside is in it because last time that Northside actually hosted the tournament, they were not part of it,” Maciel said. “That was sad to see, but we are glad that we are not only in first place, but I think we have a good team that can compete.” The Grizzlies (19-2) will be playing the early quarterfinal match on Friday starting at 10 a.m. If they win, their semifinal match Saturday also starts at 10 a.m., so Maciel made sure he got his players acclimated to the early starting time. “I’m not sure how much that’s going to help us, but we purposely had a practice (last weekend) at 10 to kind of mimic playing at that time,” he said. “The kids responded well, and I’m hoping that really ends up paying dividends, but the kids mentioned that they really didn’t feel any different playing at that time.” Since Northside won the 7A-Central, the Grizzlies got the No. 1 seed from the conference. It also means the Grizzlies get to avoid playing some solid teams like Springdale Har-Ber, Bentonville and Little Rock Catholic, which are on the other side of the bracket. “You have teams like Springdale which is always going to be tough to beat and they’re always going to be a state championship contender,” Maciel said. “And Har-Ber is number one (in the state) and nationally ranked and you also have Bentonville and (Little Rock) Catholic on that side, so it’s a tougher bracket I think on that side, although of course, we do have to play (good teams on Northside’s part of the bracket).” There is also the potential for the Grizzlies to have a rematch with Southside after the city rivals squared off a week ago. The Mavericks (11-12) begin the tournament today by playing Rogers Heritage at 10 a.m., and the winner of that game takes on Northside in Friday’s quarterfinals. “We’re in the playoffs, so you know in the playoffs, it’s anybody’s goal, and hopefully if we can get a good, solid game with no mistakes and finish our chances, we’ll be all right,” Southside coach Moodie Ihmeidan said. The Mavs will be making their first trip to state since that 2012 tournament at Northside, which was Maciel’s final season at Southside before taking over the Grizzlies the following season. Southside closed out the regular season with a much-needed 6-2 win at home Monday against North Little Rock, giving them the No. 5 seed from the 7A-Central. “We needed a win like this, because we had been on a four-game losing streak, so a win like this kind of gives us a little more confidence going into the playoffs. ... It’s been up and down, but overall, we’re looking forward to the playoff experience; for a lot of these guys, it’s the first time,” Ihmeidan said. “Just the experience of getting there will be good for them no matter what the result is, so we’re looking forward to it.” Van Buren’s postseason hopes seemed to be in jeopardy a week ago after the Pointers dropped to 1-11 in the 7A-West. But Van Buren reeled off back-to-back wins against Fayetteville and on the road Monday at Heritage to reach state. The Pointers (7-16), the No. 6 seed from the 7A-West, will play at noon today in a first-round match against Bryant, the No. 3 seed from the 7A-Central.

NORTHSIDE BOYS READY TO HOST 7A STATE

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 5/11/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Northside Athletics