Trojans girls soccer getting ready for tough playoff match

Pahrump’s girls soccer team is back in the regional playoffs this year after defeating Mater Academy East Las Vegas, on Wednesday.

The Trojans finished in No. 3 in the Class 3A Southern - Mountain league after securing their eighth win in the league. Pahrump Valley finished with the most ties in the league after they matched scores with Boulder City, Sports Leadership and Management, Chaparral and Sunrise Mountain.

Pahrump Valley was the only school in the league to give Boulder City their first tie, while SLAM was the first school to defeat the Eagles 3-1.

Here’s how the Trojans ended the regular season.

On the up

The Trojans started the season with a lot of uncertainty after their first league game against SLAM in late August. It was an inevitable 8-0 defeat that left the team with a new sense of perspective.

Many of the junior varsity players had to step up to varsity after the entire team graduated and left six underclassmen last year. The new team realized how fast varsity can be.

But the Trojans got their first victory against Mojave in a 4-1 win after Shaelee Boucher (4), Sydney Crotty (8), Natalie Soto (1) and Ryleigh Denton (13) scored for the first time. The Trojans would pick up two more wins against Chaparral and Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon.

Then the Trojans traveled to East Las Vegas where Pahrump Valley had a tight match against Sunrise Mountain. The team patched up its communication issues and trusted each other through every pass. Natalia Vallin (6) scored two goals for the Trojans and in their game against Pinecrest, she scored two more.

That was the team’s best game, according to Coach Amy Carlson after the whole team came together and played a tight ship.

Every game after that would get progressively more difficult as they would score a big 6-2 win against MAELV before their game against SLAM. The last time the Trojans played SLAM they lost 8-0 and in their rematch the Bulls were not expecting the teams to switch up.

The Trojans traveled to Henderson, where Vallin would score the first goal and lead the entire first half of a hot game. Then in the second half the Trojans would keep the lead at 3-2 until the last two minutes.

On a corner kick Madison Williams Mendenhall (12), the Trojans goalkeeper, was unable to extend her arms after she blocked a goal attempt that bounced off her and over to the right side of the goal box and a SLAM player kicked the ball in to tie the game.

Then the Trojans had to play No. 1 Boulder City, where the Trojans were the first team not to lose to the Eagles.

The Trojans would add their second loss after their anticipated Boulder City rematch, where Carlson believes the girls over-thought . The Eagles had 11 shots on goal that Mendenhall blocked, while the Trojans only had one shot on goal.

Playoffs

The No. 3 Trojans advanced to the regional playoffs to play against the Virgin Valley Bulldogs in Mesquite.

The first game Pahrump Valley played was against Virgin Valley where the Trojans lost 2-0. But that was against a totally different team at the time. The Trojans climbed the rankings and have managed to turn their entire season around.

As the regular season is not over yet for all schools, they have locked in their final positions. Boulder City is likely to hold onto No. 1 in the Mountain league, which would have them play against No. 4 Del Sol from the Desert league.

If the Eagles win their first game and if the Trojans defeat Virgin Valley, the Trojans will have their third rematch game for the semifinals on Oct. 30, the winner will move on to the league championship match. This would guarantee the progression to the state playoffs.

SLAM is likely to hold their second place and play No. 3 Moapa Valley. Equipo is the Desert league’s No. 1 school and is currently undefeated.

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