Trojans boys soccer game against the Crusaders went down to the wire

In boys soccer, Faith Lutheran (5-7-6 overall, 3-4-2 Sunset League) came to town on Tuesday. Pahrump Valley (4-8-2, 1-6-1) played some of the best defense up to this year but it wasn’t enough for the win as they lost 2-1.

The Trojans played mostly a defensive game in the first half. The Crusaders kept Pahrump off balance and the ball remained on the Trojans’ side the entire half.

The game came down to penalties. The score was 0-0 with 8:30 left on the clock in the first when Pahrump was penalized just outside their goal. The ensuing penalty kick gave the Crusaders a 1-0 lead at the half.

During halftime, Trojans Coach Don Boulden made some changes loading his front three with seniors. He moved Josh Mortensen, Nick Nelson and Adrian Maldonado from their defensive positions. The resulting change yielded a score. Trojans Coach Don Boulden made the move knowing he would sacrifice a bit on defense. It was a gamble that had paid off in the past.

This decision wasn’t easy for him to make. He is a coach that believes that defense wins games. “You work from the back up,” he has told his players in the past.

Another penalty allowed the Trojans to tie the game. Faith was penalized at 33:47 for tripping and Aaron Alcarez made the penalty shot for the Trojans to tie the game. The momentum shifted and the Trojans had the upper hand for the next 15 minutes. They had several opportunities, which included two corner kicks but nothing would go into the net.

The game was tied until Faith opened up a hole in the Trojans defense and scored with 13:26 left in the game. Pahrump couldn’t recover and time expired.

After the game, the coach seemed frustrated, but when pressed he said that wasn’t it and then commented on his offensive halftime move. “We took our best shooters and put them up front. It worked out for one goal,” he said.

Boulden then added that despite the loss he feels he really doesn’t have to make any major changes for the upcoming game against Mojave (5-2-2, 5-2-1).

“Really it’s not like we need to do things differently,” Boulden said. “We need to play like a team, finish and beat the other team to the ball. Transitions have beaten us in the past, but not today. Today was just not getting to the ball.”

The Trojans are at home on Friday to start the second half of the season against third place Mojave at 4 p.m. The Trojans are tied for seventh place with Cheyenne (1-7-1, 1-6-1).

Clark (8-0-2, 8-0-1) is in first, Western (9-4-1, 8-1) is in second and Spring Valley (6-5, 6-4) is in fourth with Faith in fifth and then Sierra Vista (3-8-2, 3-5-1).