Soccer: Trojans come from behind to avoid a big loss

If you were one of those fans that left at halftime from the boys soccer game on Wednesday night, then you missed out on a great comeback.

The Trojans boys soccer team (4-10-2 overall, 1-5-1 Sunset League) came back from a 3-1 deficit at the half to tie the game at 4-4 and prevented a heartbreaking loss to the Mojave Rattlers in high school league soccer action at Pahrump Valley High School.

The boys bounced back after losing big to the Sunset League leader, Sunrise Mountain (9-0, 6-0), on Tuesday, 8-0.

“I talked to the boys at the half and said it’s all about intensity,” Trojans head soccer coach Chris Roberts said. “I said it’s in your hands. They had to bring it if they wanted it. They had to deliver. And they kept it up, they pushed the ball around.”

The scoring started for the Trojans late in the second half after Mojave sunk two goals in quick succession early on in the game. The Trojans then responded with their first goal by junior striker, Alavaro Garcia, to make the score 2-1.

Mojave then made the score 3-1 at the half.

In the opening minutes of the second half, freshman midfielder Vincent DiBlasi sunk one to make the score 3-2, but Mojave then scored their last goal to make it 4-2. That would be the last time Mojave scored.

The Trojans poured it on and although they had a few misfires in the second half, they ruled the half.

“In the second half we completely dominated that game,” the coach said. “I think our conditioning, for the most part, took over. I think they looked a little tired from what I saw because we were still pushing and still running and they were very lax. They just weren’t the same team and so I think they were just tired.”

The Trojans got their third goal from junior midfielder Jose Chavez and it looked like Mojave might lose. But then the clocked kept ticking. First, it was 12 minutes and no score. Then six minutes left in the game and still no score. Finally, with under two minutes to go, Garcia made the final goal to give the Trojans the tie.

The team avoided the loss and the coach felt that his team wanted it more.

“We were really playing hard and really went at them,” Roberts said. “They (his team) focused on getting to the ball first.”

This was apparent when Mojave (4-5-1, 3-3-1) who outscored Pahrump in the first half, only scored one in the second and took only three shots in the second half.

Garcia explained after the game why he felt his team was able to tie the game.

“I think we dominated in the second half because we really wanted it,” he said. “We just didn’t give up.”

The Trojans will play next at Western on Oct. 9 and then play Desert Pines on Oct. 17 at home at 5:30 p.m.

Girls Soccer: The girls are still undefeated (4-0 Sunset League) as they beat Sunrise Mountain on the road, 2-1 on Tuesday. They host Western (3-0-2) at home at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 9.

Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com