Lady Cardinals Soccer Honors

FARMINGTON — Six players from Farmington’s 2022 soccer team which finished 3-5-3 received All-Conference recognition during its second season in the 4A West.

The Lady Cardinals, coached by Austin Lewis, were represented among the Arkansas High School Coaches Association West All-Stars by Lynley Bowen. During her senior season Bowen scored 5 goals with 3 assists and got 22 shots on goal.

Lewis describes Bowen as a very coachable athlete with speed and quickness

“She really has a knack for putting that ball on goal,” Lewis said. “She’s a good, little player, one of those players who just did everything that she was told. She knows the game. She was in great position all year to make a pass or take a shot. She’s a good team leader.”

Bowen was one of three team captains along with Aubrey Willcutt and Mikelle Rogers.

Lauren Nay was awarded All-State honors for her work on the defensive end of the field.

“She was our center back, she was just commanding the back line and taking care of balls that went into our third [of the field],” Lewis said.

The All-Conference players included goalie Cadence Dean (71 saves), Rogers (8 shots on goal), Emma Ortiz (15 shots on goal, 5 goals), Sara Sisk (25 shots on goal, 2 goals), Matisse Ames (9 shots on goal, 2 goals), and Willcutt another defensive player.

Dean signed a national letter of intent to play women’s college soccer for Spurgeon College, of Kansas City, Mo., in the spring, becoming the first Farmington girls player to achieve that distinction.

Lewis attributed that to how Dean performs on the field, calling her a very tenacious player, very focused and driven.

Although Dean was the No. 1 goalie, the Lady Cardinals occasionally switched Dean to the field to allow Brenlee Fields, a rising senior, to get her more experience as a goalie.

“We had a few girls pushing All-State nominations. We had a lot of players with good ability. We’re hoping to improve upon next year with the girls coming back and get more wins,” Lewis said. “Aubrey Willcutt, she was one of our defensive backs. She helped us keep the ball out of the box. She did real good.”

The Lady Cardinals’ season ended on April 29 with a 2-1 loss to rival Prairie Grove in the 4A West Conference tournament, one win short of qualifying for state, yet Lewis noted an effect of the boys winning a state championship in the program’s second full season carries over to the girls team.

“It’s great for the boys team and it influences the soccer program in general. We had a good system this past season with our practice schedules. We were able to practice at the same time. It’s a tight-knit group. The girls see the boys and the success they’ve had and they want to have that type of success,” Lewis said.

Lewis appreciates the time and energy volunteer assistant coach Mark Rogers put into the program. Mark Rogers played in college and in a lot of high profile club programs while growing up.

“He’s Mr. Soccer with the X’s and O’s with his background in soccer playing while growing up,” Lewis said. “He was leading me and [boys interim head] Coach [Josh] Fonville in helping us set up and have our programs succeed. He helped us set up at practice. We have used his wisdom, his experience and his information to really propel both the boys and girls programs.”

If Lewis had a question, Rogers became the one he reached out to. Being able to tap into that experience enabled Lewis to enjoy coaching the sport.

“Coming from a football background there are so many differences between football and soccer. Soccer just seems more fluid. There are a lot of intangibles on how fluid the game can be. It’s exciting to coach,” Lewis said.