Pahrump Valley High School boys soccer playoffs

Nearly all season, Trojans boys soccer head coach Andrew Norton has said that the majority of their matches have been decided by one goal.

He’s not wrong, as the Trojans have had seven contests decided by a goal this fall. Unless they happen to be facing rival Boulder City High School — then all bets are off.

Putting up yet again another three goals against the Eagles during their regular season rematch at home, the Trojans looked the best they have all year, playing together and comfortably cruising to a 3-0 victory Tuesday night.

“We were playing a 3-1-4-2 formation originally and we actually took Henry Nunez Manzo and instead just put him right in the middle of the field,” Norton said. “It wasn’t a standard formation — it was more of a tactical shift. We were losing control in the middle, so I told Nunez: ‘Wherever the ball goes, you go fight for it.’”

The Trojans (3-4-3, 3-4-3 3A Southern League) controlled the ball well and found success toward the end of the first period, punching through their first goal in the 30th minute when Nunez was able to gather an assist to Roberto Gonzalez, who finished the goal from a pass that ricocheted off Boulder City’s keeper.

Heading into the second half with a 1-0 lead, coach Norton was still not fully content with the space created.

“Honestly, it was still nerve-wracking. A one-goal lead doesn’t feel safe as a coach. One mistake, and it’s gone — and that can really deflate the team. But once we made the change to control the midfield and added another goal, things settled,” Norton said. “You could see it in the players. They calmed down and started playing with confidence, like they do in practice.”

The Trojans kept it pushing cool and collectively as they would extend their lead late in the in the second half to 2-0 with a soft touch assist from Randall Pangilinan that Rafael Sanchez was able strike past Boulder’s keeper with 8 minutes left to play.

The party wasn’t quite over yet, as the Trojans found more open net in the last remaining minutes following an assist from Berto to Ryan Nunez Manzo, who punched it through.

In addition to the offense having a stellar evening, the defensive effort was unparalleled.

“The big difference tonight was our focus on shielding and using our bodies to protect the ball. We’ve been working on that a lot this past week, and it showed,” Norton said. “Once we gained possession, we were able to hold onto it — something that hasn’t always been the case in past games.”

Heading into next week, the Trojans will face an immediate test on Monday as they rematch first-place Moapa Valley (10-1-1, 6-1-1 3A Southern League). Earlier this season on Aug. 25, the Trojans dropped a nail-biter to the Pirates 1-0.

With only two league games remaining in their last four games of the scheduled fall season, the Trojans need to secure the win to move into fourth place and gain better playoff seeding position.

“It’s huge. This win tonight just about secures our spot in the postseason, but that Moapa game could determine whether we get the third or fourth seed. It matters because the third and fourth seeds get to host their first playoff game,” Norton said.

The win wouldn’t ensure a bye, but rather would give the Trojans an edge heading into the playoffs.

“No bye, but home-field advantage is big. So yeah, a win against Moapa would likely move us up,” Norton said. “Also, Virgin Valley just beat Boulder 3–1. We actually did better against Boulder tonight than they did. We tied Virgin Valley 1–1, and I thought we were the better team that day. So I think we’ve got a real shot at beating Moapa and moving up.”

Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.