Green Forest teams fall in state tournaments

Green Forest’s startling debut in 4A state soccer ended last weekend at the State Tournament. The injury-plagued Lady Tigers were eliminated by a single goal, then the boys fell 4-2 to Hope High School in the quarterfinals.

The boys had faced Brookland High School in the first round where captain Milton Ortiz scored four goals in a 5–1 rout, sending Green Forest into the quarterfinals with momentum and confidence.

The boys took the field against Hope High School with confidence and a noisy crowd of Tiger fans and parents who had made the three-hour trip. Green Forest took the lead after a pass that crossed from the right side. It connected with striker Enrique Rosales.

He slammed the ball past Hope’s goalkeeper: 1–0, Tigers. The bench celebrated. The crowd roared. It felt like another Green Forest game.

Hope answered with a perfectly placed free kick from about 20 yards out, curling the ball over Green Forest’s defensive wall and into the top corner of the net.

The Green Forest crowd was startled. The Tigers had rarely been hit back like that all season. They regrouped. Ortiz broke through and scored to make it 2–1. The lead was back.

But Hope didn’t drop off — they pushed harder. And this time, Green Forest wasn’t ready. A long shot on goal pulled Hope even at 2–2.

Minutes later, another nearly identical play gave Hope the lead at 3–2. The Green Forest players were stunned. For a team used to controlling games from start to finish, the sudden pushback was something new. As Hope’s confidence grew, Green Forest’s rhythm began to break down.

Hope’s fourth goal came off a sequence of passes that caught Green Forest out of position. Hope finished the match 4-2.

The loss was unexpected. Sports Illustrated’s SBLive website had favored the Tigers, the 4A West Conference champions, over Hope – third seed from the 4A South conference. On MaxPreps.com, Green Forest had been ranked sixth in the state — the only 4A team to make the top nine. Hope was ranked 31st.

The Tigers had been confident of a fifth state championship. Green Forest’s boys had won the state crown in 2014, 2021, 2023 and 2024. After a 16-0-1 season, Green Forest had been vying for a “threepeat” – three state championships in a row.

From the start of the season, expectations had been heavily against Green Forest — the smallest public school in Arkansas 4A soccer. The Tigers had moved up from 3A this year, competing against larger schools — some with almost twice Green Forest’s enrollment.

The Tigers stunned Arkansas soccer in March by beating reigning 4A state champion Clarksville 3-1, then the following week triumphing 1-0 over 4A West’s top-ranked Morrilton. Later in the season, Green Forest beat Clarksville again — relegating them to fourth place in the conference, barely good enough for the state tournament.

In the state quarterfinals, Hope’s fast-paced game threw the Tigers off their familiar rhythm.

“They took us out of our comfort zone,” said Tiger midfielder and senior Arauny Reyes, who set a school record when he came in second in the 1,600 meters at the Class 4A state track meet. “We responded and made it tough for them, but little errors can finish a game. Those little errors cost us the game.”

Reyes’ brother, sophomore Abasai Reyes is the Tigers’ starting goalkeeper and racked up an impressive seven shutouts this spring.

It was the Green Forest’s first loss in a sanctioned game since May 1, 2023.

That was when they fell 4-0 to Haas Hall private academy. Weeks later, the Tigers avenged that by defeating Haas Hall 4-0 at the 3A state tournament for the 2023 state championship.

In the last decade, the Tiger boys have posted 178 wins, 35 losses and three ties. Green Forest’s high school program began in 2003 and until 2020 competed in 4A since there were not enough 3A schools for a separate classification. In 2014 the Tigers won the 4A state championship.

In 23 years of Green Forest high school soccer, the Tigers have been to the state tournament 22 times.

Along the way, they’ve developed some intense rivalries — particularly with two other soccer powerhouses — repeated state champs Harding Academy and Central Arkansas Christian. Both prep schools beat the Tigers for state championships. But the Tigers also beat both for the title – CAC twice.

Harding and CAC also have been moved up to 4A. Green Forest expected to face them again at state, but Harding didn’t qualify and CAC was eliminated in the opening round.

Also going home were Green Forest’s girls, who finished their regular season with an 11-2 record, taking second place in the 4A West.

“We proved a lot of people wrong,” said Lady Tigers coach Rodrigo Lopez.

But competing in 4A took its toll. At the state tournament, three key starters were playing injured. Captain Kayla Lozano could barely walk after close regular season-wins over Prairie Grove, Gentry and Berryville. In a very physical first-round state tournament game against Brookland on Thursday, May 15, sophomore Yasmin Saucedo went down twice — yet returned to the field. Brookland won, 2-1.

What are the Lady Tigers’ chances next year?

“We’re losing six seniors, one of them our starting goalkeeper Haddasah Reyes,” said Lopez.

She’s the sister of the boys’ team’s Arauny and Abasai.

“We’ll miss her, but freshman Reagan Connell has stepped up,” Lopez said. “Yasmin and Lisbet Rosales will take care of Kayla’s spot. Yasmin is a warrior. Lisbet never gives up. And I hear some very promising eighth-graders are coming up.”

The Lady Tigers yearn for their first state championship after settling for state runners- ip and repeated conference championships. The girls have a 10-year record of 57 wins, 20 losses and 1 tie in official games.

What about the Green Forest boys next year?

“We are losing eight seniors,” said Coach Adam Richter, “and they will definitely be missed. However, we have some incredible talent among our incoming seniors.”

In an early varsity match this spring, junior Jonathan Rivera’s leg was broken in two places, benching him for the season. He will be back next spring. He has been rated “one of the few world-class players in Arkansas soccer,” by veteran Arkansas Comets club founder Samir Haj. Rivera has played for the Comets since grade school along with Ortiz. The Tigers’ volunteer assistant coach, Fernando Fuentes, will be returning with his two sons, Jafet and Emanuel, who were recruited to the competitive team Arkansas Prodigy in Rogers by head coach Carlos Chicas.

Fifty-two high school boys tried out this spring for the varsity Tigers with only 25 rostered. For the first time, both the boys and Lady Tigers will have junior varsity squads next year – and paid assistant coaches. The resulting larger pool of eligible players will help as Green Forest again faces the challenge of competing against big schools.

“Our future is bright,” Richter said.