Trojans girl soccer team eliminates themselves from the regional playoffs

Momentum was high at the start of the second half for Pahrump Valley’s girls soccer team after Natalia Vallin (6) tied the game, yet the flow would end after the Trojans defeated themselves in the first regional playoffs game.

At the Evan Wilson stadium in Mesquite, the Trojans played their first game of the Class 3A Southern Playoffs game against the Virgin Valley Bulldogs on Monday evening. The teams battled winds that reached 25 miles per hour during their game.

The high winds gave one side an edge as winds pushed any ball headed east forward. The Trojans would start the game facing west in the first half.

But Pahrump Valley played against themselves after some mishaps near the goal box that resulted in goals for the Dawgs.

“We told the girls it was either their game to win or their game to lose and I believe in the girls,” Trojans Coach Amy Carlson said. “At the end of the day, they just didn’t want it.”

And for some players this was their last game of the season.

Here’s how the Trojans were eliminated from the playoffs.

Braved the wind

In the first half the Trojans were playing at a disadvantage as the winds would cut long kicks in half that impacted ball possession.

Within the first seven minutes, the Bulldogs had three shots attempted on the Trojans, none at the goal. Madison Williams Mendenhall (12), the Trojans goalkeeper, would then block shot after shot on the goal after Virgin Valley would blaze through the defense.

But the shots would land in Mendenhall’s hands.

Pahrump Valley was not communicating with each other. In one instance, three Trojans arrived at the ball, which didn’t allow for upfield progression.

The Trojans goalkeeper was the only thing that prevented the Bulldogs from scoring several goals with the wind disadvantage, until the last minute of the first half.

On a near midfield attempt from Virgin Valley, Mendenhall followed the ball to the right of the net. When the goalkeeper went to block the ball with her hands she inadvertently changed the ball’s path to go into the net for a Bulldogs lead.

Change of winds

The Trojans returned to the field ready to close out the game as the wind was now in their favor.

No time was wasted for the Trojans as they managed to pass midfield and pick up a penalty kick. After Vallin scored and tied the game, momentum was high, but that quickly came to a stop.

“It should’ve picked the spirits up, but it didn’t push our mids,” Carlson said. “Our mids just weren’t taking shots like they should.”

This whole season, the Trojans have been battling the team’s mindset, according to the coach. The Trojans managed to turn their season around after a couple of games at the start of the season and the team completely changed after facing off against Sunrise Mountain.

“Every game, it’s themselves,” Carlson said. “Any game we have lost or tied, they have lost it and we tell them all the time.”

Last year the Trojans ran a tight ship that won the regional and state championship game. The team only had six players stay with the team as the rest graduated and Carlson said she doesn’t know if the team kept comparing themselves to last year’s team and if that prevented them from overthinking the game.

“Some days that team shows up and some days the team that overthinks shows up,” she said.

After the team tied, Virgin Valley was determined to take back the lead. The Bulldogs quickly took the ball to the penalty box and found a spot to shoot the ball. Mendenhall followed the ball as the Bulldogs outflanked the Trojans and shot it right into the goalkeeper’s hands.

But as a Trojans defender attempted to pass the ball to Mendenhall after taking possession of the ball in the penalty box, the kick was short and the Bulldogs were quick to take advantage of the situation and score a second goal.

In another crucial play, a Trojans defender attempted to block a slow ball headed to Mendenhall but changed the direction of the ball for the goalkeeper.

The Bulldogs would bring the score to 3-1 with less than five minutes to spare.

When the final whistle blew, the Trojans walked off the field with tears in their eyes after they were eliminated from the regional playoffs.

The Trojans season comes to an end with an overall league standings of 8-2-4. The team is losing 10 seniors this season and will have to rebuild the team once again next season.

Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@pvtimes.com. Follow @JimmyRomo.News on Instagram.