WINNEMUCCA - Fans in attendance for Tuesday's match between the Lowry High School boys soccer team and Spring Creek got treated to a little bit of everything.
The rivals combined to make three penalty kicks in the first 32 minutes of the game, which included two by the Buckaroos. Lowry overcame a 2-1 deficit to win 5-3 on senior day. Luis Hernandez was honored as the lone Buckaroo senior on the squad.
Spring Creek came in undefeated in Ruby Mountain League play and beat Lowry 1-0 earlier in the season. The Buckaroos finished their home slate of matches in style, going 5-0 on their turf this season
"You usually don't see that many penalty kicks in a match," said LHS head coach Steve Swanson. "I wasn't sure on the first two but the hand ball on Spring Creek on the third one was pretty obvious. It was a huge win for us in terms of our league and for a better playoff spot. Not many teams have scored that many goals on them. We passed the ball well and got off some nice shots."
Lowry caught an early break, when it was awarded a penalty kick six minutes into the match. Jesus Escobedo took advantage of the free kick and put the Buckaroos up 1-0.
The league-leading Spartans did not waver, scoring five minutes later on a shot by Tyler Knudsen that got by Buckaroo goalkeeper Roberto Sanchez. Spring Creek took its only lead of the match in the 23rd minute, when it scored on a penalty kick.
The run of penalty kicks continued as the Spartans were called for a hand ball inside the Lowry box. Hernandez made Spring Creek pay for the mistake, firing the ball past by Spartan goalie Andrew Bonich.
"Luis missed the last couple of matches due to an injury," Swanson said. "He was not at 100 percent, but he makes a big difference when he is on the field. The team plays better when he and Giovanni (Hernandez) are on the field.
Lowry (9-7-1 overall, 3-6-1 Division I-A, 6-2 Ruby Mountain) took the lead for good in the 37th minute on a shot by Carlos Aguilar. The junior added his second goal of the night, nine minutes into the second half, giving the Buckaroos a 4-2 advantage.
The action continued at a furious pace, with both teams having excellent scoring chances throughout the second half. Sanchez made two saves in the 68th and 74th minute, keeping the Lowry lead at two goals.
"Roberto was great and made some great saves for us," said the coach. "The defense played great. If you watched, my defenders were beating Spring Creek's strikers to the ball and giving up a foot in size. They worked their butts off."
The Spartans all but put themselves out of the match in the 77th minute when Bonich attempted to clear the ball from his goalie position. That backfired when Luis Hernandez stole the ball and was left undefended for the shot, giving Lowry a 5-2 lead.
As extra time approached, Spring Creek jumped back on to the board, when it scored off a rebound off the crossbar. The Spartans continued to attack from there and appeared to have closed the gap to 5-4 but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call. The Buckaroos were able to hold on for the win after that,
Prior to hosting Spring Creek, Lowry was on the road last Saturday in Elko, where it lost 2-0 to the Indians. The Buckaroos played without the services of Luis Hernandez and Giovanni Hernandez.
Elko grabbed a 1-0 lead 15 minutes into the match on a shot by Andrew Young, which was assisted by Brendan Shelly.
It went from bad to worse for the Buckaroos, as Kevin Blanco dropped the ball back to Sanchez in the goal. But Sanchez missed the ball, giving the Indians a 2-0 advantage.
"When that happens, it takes everything out of you," Swanson said. "We had a couple of good looks but could not capitalize. We were also without two of our best players."
Lowry is off this weekend and returns to the field on Thursday when the team travels to Ely for a 4 p.m. start. The Buckaroos close out the regular season on Friday, Oct. 26, in West Wendover at noon.
"We have some time off before we play again," Swanson said. "We will try rest our starters as much as we can in the final two games. From there we will see where we go for the playoffs. It looks like we might be headed to Fallon or South Tahoe. At this point it doesn't matter where we go."
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