Pahrump Valley High School girls soccer is off to a great start after taking two out of three games in the Mesquite Cup tourney over the weekend and then coming home to win their home opener on Monday, 8-0.
Over the weekend, the Mesquite tournament came close to being a three-game sweep, but Desert Oasis in the first game took Pahrump to a shootout, to settle the tie. This is where the referee allows each team to pick five kickers and each team gets five shots at the goal to break the tie. In this case, Desert Oasis won the shootout to win the game 1-0. The Trojans (3-1 overall) beat Moapa Valley 3-0 and Virgin Valley 1-0.
On Monday Pahrump faced Somerset-Sky Pointe (0-1) and beat them 8-0. The game was called due to the mercy rule with 15 minutes still left on the clock in the second half.
Senior Sydney Dennis scored the first goal, taking the ball down the field for the score in the first seven minutes of the game. Dennis would score another goal halfway through the first half on a pass by senior Kaitlyn Carrington.
Carrington scored twice too, in the first half, both times off of passes from freshman Makayla Gent.
Kathy Niles scored the last goal of the first half off of a Vitto assist. Pahrump Valley led 5-0 at the half.
Eight minutes into the second half, Vitto scored off a Dennis assist to lead off the half.
Then Gent took one down the field and scored. The last goal was scored by junior Grace Gundacker.
Trojans coach Julie Carrington feels the team started off on a positive note, playing Desert Oasis tough. Last year this team finished second to Bishop Gorman in the Southwest League and was 16-4-1 overall. They are a top Class 4A team.
“We lost to them 6-1 last year and this year lost to them by only one point,” she said. “We played them hard and this was probably our most successful tournament that we had in a couple of years, based on how we played and how we worked together. So it was really good. Virgin Valley and Moapa Valley also looked good and were a lot better than last year, it was just that I felt we were better.”
As far as how the Trojans looked in their home opener, the coach was more than pleased.
“We have a lot of freshmen on the team and I think they are working well,” she said. “The first thing we taught them was to get the ball on the ground and I think they worked well. And then the five seniors we have are working well with them. We are coming together better as a team. I like how they are really evolving.”
Dennis agrees with her coach that the team is growing together as a team.
“I am really proud of this team,” the senior said. “All summer we have been working really hard. We have a lot of really good freshmen that came in. I think we have improved a lot. This team has some really good chemistry too and everyone just gets along. So I am really proud of this team this year. The games I have played so far have been the best games I have played in high school.”
The Trojans take their high-powered offense to Del Sol High School on Wednesday. The Dragons are looking good so far, they beat Valley High School on Monday 4-1.
Then on Friday, the Trojans will travel up north for a two-day Spring Creek Tournament, which usually features the best the 3A North has to offer.
The next Trojans home game will be against Western at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 11.
Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com