By John R. Schirmer
News-Leader staff
HOT SPRINGS – The Nashville Scrappers held De Queen to one goal, but that was all the Leopards needed in the Class 4A state soccer finals Saturday, May 23, at Hot Springs Lakeside.
De Queen won 1-0.
Thunderstorms caused delays in the earlier matches, moving the 4A championship game from the original 4 p.m. start to around 5:45 p.m.
Once the contest got underway, the teams played to a standoff through much of the first half before De Queen scored on a shot into the left rear corner of the goal.
The Leopards carried their 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime and held on in the second half to win the state title for the first time since 2023.
The Scrappers were playing in their first 4A championship game, a big step forward for a program which began in the spring of 2017. Nashville’s first home match was March 31 that year, a 7-5 overtime win over Mena.
The Scrappers have made three straight appearances in the state semifinals ahead of this year’s trip to the finals.
They ended the season with an overall record of 17-4-1.
Nashville was the two seed from Class 4A-South. The Leopards were the one seed from the conference.
Ahren Turner is the head coach, assisted by Jacob Greenfield, Jesse Bearden and Clarissa Brizo.
