Not only was Northside goalkeeper Eric Flores dealing with two tough opponents at the 7A state soccer tournament, he was also dealing with the elements.

In particular, the wind.

Gusty conditions were prevalent during the Grizzlies’ 7A quarterfinal Friday and the 7A semifinal Saturday, both at Rogers Heritage. But for the most part, Flores played flawless in the net, and as a result, the Grizzlies are one win away from a state title.

Flores got a shutout Friday, when Northside and Fayetteville battled to a scoreless draw at the end of regulation, before the Grizzlies got a goal early in the overtime period to win it. Then after Springdale scored 10 minutes into the second half for the game’s first goal, the Grizzlies rallied with two goals in the final 15 minutes, and Flores did his part to make that stand in a 2-1 Northside win.

“I just stayed prepared and stayed focused, taking the coaches’ advice from the sidelines,” Flores, named the Times Record’s Athlete of the Week, said. “It was windy, so I had to stay on my toes at all times because anything can happen, any shot could go in, so I had to be prepared.

“I just had to mentally prepare myself to go up for everything; even if it was going out of bounds, I had to prepare myself no matter what. ... Not letting (the ball) go into to the goal was my priority, it was my number one priority.”

With the two wins at state, Northside — which lost on its home field in the 7A quarterfinals last season — is headed to its first championship game appearance since 2015 as the Grizzlies (15-5-1) will face Rogers at noon Friday on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville for the 7A title.

The Grizzlies are seeking their first state title in soccer since 2013.

“I’m very blessed and I’m very happy,” Flores, a senior who is in his first season as the team’s primary goalkeeper, said.


“Unbelievable. I’m still speechless about it, I can’t believe it’s actually happened.”

In the quarterfinal against Fayetteville, Flores had to deal with the wind going against the Grizzlies. Early on in the game, Fayetteville had a big shot opportunity.

“I was a little bit off the goal and I had actually looked back in goal towards the ball because it was over me and I had to leap for it,” Flores said. “I felt pretty good, I felt like Superman, and with the touch of my fingers I deflected the ball out of bounds, so that was a close call.

“The second half, they were really attacking me, but not as much as the first half because the first half, we had the wind against us. The wind was a big factor in the game; I think it was 25 mile per hour gusts against my goal, so the first half was more challenging than the second.”

But in the overtime session, the wind went back against Flores and the Grizzlies.

“After regulation, I found out I would be going against the wind again, so that was also a little trouble for me,” he said. “But I still had faith in my team and we still pulled out that win.”

Although the Grizzlies’ next opponent was top-ranked Springdale, which won the 7A-West and had lost only once all season, Flores really didn’t feel nervous going into that semifinal match-up. Part of the reason he said was the Grizzlies got past the hurdle of winning the quarterfinal round, which they didn’t do last year.


“I was really nervous at the beginning of the (Fayetteville) game, but when I found out that we were playing Springdale in the semis, I don’t know why I wasn’t as nervous as I was the first game, probably because we got past the quarterfinals,” Flores said.

The game was scoreless at halftime. But in the second half, the wind went against Northside, and Flores said it was even gustier than it was Friday.

“The second half was the most challenging one,” he said. “The first day against Fayetteville, it was 25 (miles per hour), and (Saturday), it was actually 10 miles per hour more so it was 35.

“In the first half, I punted the ball when the wind was going for me and it went almost 100 yards, so that’s how bad the wind was. So yes, the second half against Springdale was the most challenging one.

Springdale did get on the board 10 minutes into the second half for a 1-0 lead. But minutes later, Northside’s Jason Forsey tied it with a goal of his own. Then, Ricky Iturriaga delivered the eventual game-winner with more than four minutes left.

“When I saw Jason Mendoza pass the ball to Ricky, I had something going through my head saying, ‘This is it.’ ... When I saw (Iturriaga’s shot) go top 90, that’s how God answered my prayers,” Flores said. “The whole stadium went wild, my fans, I saw my mother go crazy because I know she was praying, too.

“The whole team was going crazy, but there was still four minutes left in the game and we still had to hustle. So I had to get one of my teammates out of a celebratory mood and get back into a game mood.”


Springdale got two free kick opportunities in the final two minutes.

“The last two minutes, they got two free kicks. ... The ball went out of bounds the first time and then we had a goal kick, and since the wind was so strong, it brought the ball back to about the 20-yard line at my end,” Flores said.

Then with about 20 seconds left, Springdale had another free kick try.

“I knew this was it,” Flores said. “Either he makes it or we win. So he kicks the ball, and I see the ball go out of bounds and I took my time letting the clock run out and that’s when I knew we were going to the finals and all I could do was thank God.”

Honorable mentions

• Greenwood senior Connor Noland, playing for the final time at home, threw a one-hit five-inning shutout and struck out 12 batters to lift the Bulldogs to a 15-0 win against Jonesboro in the 6A semifinals. Noland also drove in five runs, including a three-RBI home run which jump-started a 13-run third inning.

• Poteau senior golfer Ryan Ward finished in third place in the individual standings at last week’s 4A State Tournament as he shot a three-round score of 211 (73-67-71). Ward also helped the Pirates place third in the team standings.


• Sallisaw golfer Alec Dominic finished fifth in the individual standings at last week’s 4A State Tournament. Dominic shot a three-round score of 216 (73-72-71).

• Stigler golfer Parker Rose came in eighth at last week’s 3A State Tournament with a three-round score of 217 (70-69-78).

• Wister’s Caleb Spears went 3-for-4 and drove in a run to help the Wildcats upend No. 2 ranked Latta, 6-1, in the 2A baseball quarterfinals Thursday.