By Aaron Shuttleworth

The Bryant Hornets team that played in the first half was not the same team that came back to play the second half in their 7A-Central Conference match with Little Rock Catholic Tuesday night at Bryant Stadium.

In the first 40 minuets of the game, the Rockets had a hard time getting the ball past the Hornets. Keeper Devon Norris was perfect with five saves. He finished the game off with eight total. Midfielders Ben Stukenborg and Forrest Fowler and defender Reed Evans were there to take off some of the pressure against Norris when the Rockets were able to make a break for it.

But 4:28 into the second half, the defense broke apart and lost their assignments. A Rocket player shot through and made it into the bottom left corner of the goal. Then, 6:11 later, the Rockets put another point on the board. The last goal of the night came with :20 left in the game as Catholic came away with a 3-0 win.

BENTONVILLE/ROGERS — Competing against traditional Class 7A State contenders with little rest in between matches, the Bryant Hornets soccer team impressed head coach Jason Hay despite suffering a pair of close losses on Saturday in the Northwest Arkansas Invitational tournament.

The Hornets started the day (after a Friday night game) around noon against Springdale and battled to a 1-1 tie, losing the resulting shootout 4-3. The team then got on a bus and traveled to Rogers to finish against Fayetteville, absorbing a 1-0 loss after being tied 0-0 at the half.

BENTONVILLE — The Bryant Hornets soccer team won their opening contest at the Northwest Arkansas Invitational Friday night to run their overall record this season to 4-0.

Carlos Garcia, subbing for injured forward Sean Sobba, scored the match’s lone goal off an assist from Jonathan Lowery as the Hornets downed 7A-Central Conference rival Van Buren, 1-0.

By Aaron Shuttleworth

LITTLE ROCK — For the first time since the 2000 season, the Bryant Hornets soccer team has won its conference opener, a 1-0 decision over the Little Rock Central Tigers.

But it did not come easy. The Hornets had their work cut out for them all the way to the final horn. The Central Tigers moved with cat-like reflexes but could not get away from the sting of the Hornets in the form of a strong goal early in the second half.

By Aaron Shuttleworth

There was excitement on the Bryant Stadium field Thursday night as the Hornets extended their season record to 2-0. But no one was more excited then Daniel Tucker.

With :35 seconds left in the game, Tucker was running behind teammate Marshawn Hood driving towards Texarkana’s goal. When Hood got tangled up with a Texarkana defender, all he had to do was kick it back to Tucker for a wide open shot that went to the top of the goal beyond the reach of the keeper.

So on opening night at home with less then a minute to play, senior Daniel Tucker scored his first career goal as part of a 4-0 victory.

BENTON — Alex Rowlan scored a goal off a feed from Peter Alverio with 2:31 left in the first half to provide a spark for the Bryant Hornets soccer team. Bryant rode the momentum and put together a strong second half to forge a 3-1 win over the rival Benton Panthers Friday night.

Benton had scored early in the game, picking off a loose ball off a corner kick and getting in the goal.

After the Hornets tied it late in the half, they dominated the second half, keeping the ball on their offensive end. Sean Sobba knocked in the go-ahead goal off an assist from Jose Vazquez at the 27:04 mark of the second half. With 12:41 left, Sobba fed Alverio who found the back of the net to make it 3-1.

With all but three players returning from last season’s team plus an influx of freshmen, the Bryant Hornets soccer team hopes to improve on its 8-14 record from last season and earn a trip to the State tournament, something that evaded them last season.

The Hornets open the 2010 campaign at Benton on Friday, Feb. 19. There will be a JV boys match at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity girls contest at 5:15 then the varsity boys at around 7.

Let us recall how, last fall, the Bryant Stadium surface was in such a condition that, more often than not, the bands couldn’t march, the dance teams couldn’t perform, the JV and B team games, seventh and eighth grade games had to be moved or cancelled. And when the freshman and high school varsity teams played, it was a quagmire that just continued to deteriorate.

A move began to replace the natural grass and mud with an artificial surface, something one school after another in the Hornets’ conference and classification has already done.

On-line registration for the 2010 spring soccer season for the Bryant Soccer Club is underway through Feb. 7 at http://www.bryantsoccer.org/

There will be an on-site registration and Midland Park on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 10 a.m. to noon.

For more information, call 213-KIKK (5455) or email bryantsoccer@sbcglobal.net

Registration is now underway for the Bryant Soccer Association. Register on-line at www.bryantsoccer.org through Feb. 7 and save $5. On-site registration at Midland Soccer Complex will be held Feb. 6, from 10 a.m. to noon.

For more information, visit the web site or call 501-213-5455.