The Pahrump Valley High School boys soccer team won their first league game against Cheyenne on Monday night at home.
The Trojans (2-10-1 overall, 1-3 Sunset League) led Cheyenne (0-9, 0-5) at the half 1-0, a game where they dominated the first half. The second half was like the first, but then the Trojans were penalized near their own goal and Cheyenne had an opportunity to tie the game with a penalty shot.
They scored and it looked like the Trojans might have been going down the same path where they dominated the first half only to lose the game in the second like they did in the Boulder City game.
But after the Desert Shields scored, that is where the similarity to the Boulder game ended.
Junior midfielder Felipe Perez, the team captain, said his team never gave up.
“I told them to push hard, don’t stop and we’ve got to keep going,” he said.
Trojans head soccer coach, Chris Roberts, said the win was all about not giving up.
“It came down to heart and which team wanted it more,” the coach said. “At the Boulder City game, they took a score and just dropped because it was the mentality of playing some of those bigger schools. Like 7-0 can really take a toll on you.”
What’s ahead
After losses like the team took from Western (8-0) and Mojave (7-1) the coach had his work cut out for him and he had to change some attitudes.
“You pretty much just have to build them up and you have to take one game at a time,” Roberts said. “You really focus on the next game, for once a game is in the past you can’t really get it back. There is nothing you can do about it. So we train on what we need to train on and we worked on a lot of shooting and a lot of positioning. So it came out a little better. We have a long way to go, still, the improvement was there.”
The team has worked a lot on scoring but the coach has also had to change things around on defense.
“We tried a few different things because of the personnel I had,” the coach said. “We had some people with grades that left and so I had to make some moves. We stuck to a 4-4-2 which has helped to solidify the defense a bit and gives more support from the mid on the outside. Also with the boys, we have been going over defensive strategies, covering the ball and not diving.”
Freshman midfielder Vincent DiBlasi scored the first goal in the first ten minutes of the game.
“I felt awesome making that goal and it was my first goal,” he said.
Perez said the team was working hard.
“Our coach has been pushing us hard,” Perez said. “He has been telling us not to give up and to always play our hardest to the last minute.”
The Trojans will need that attitude today as they travel to Adelson (6-3, 2-3) in Las Vegas to take on the Lions in league play. The game starts at 4 p.m.
Girls soccer
The Trojans (9-2-2, 3-0-1) girls team continued to win and beat Cheyenne (3-6-1, 0-3) in league play, 4-0. Seniors Vaniah Vitto and Kaitlyn Carrington scored a goal apiece. Makayla Gent scored two goals. The Trojans’ next home game is at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 9.
Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com