For some reason there is that one team you can not beat no matter what the circumstances are.
The Lowry High School girls soccer team has had the experience every time it plays Elko. The Indians have dominated the series with the Lady Bucks since rejoining the Division I-A North some five years ago.
Lowry has made progress against Elko in the past couple of years as the two rivals played to ties in the last three matches they played in. The Lady Bucks finally broke through last Thursday with a 1-0 victory in a crucial match-up with playoff berths on the line.
"It was an intense match and fun to be part of," said LHS coach Melanie Rasor. "We tied them twice this season and we knew we could play with them. The girls were ready to play. We are trying to figure out the last time we have beaten them. It feels good right now."
Lowry looked to control the play with speed and were playing an up tempo match. Both schools had opportunities to score in the first 40 minutes but could not convert.
"We wanted to do that (play quick)," Rasor said. "Our fitness was better than they were and we used our speed to the advantage. The girls that came in off the bench gave us good minutes and kept that same intensity up. It is nice to have girls that can go into different spots."
The Indians had a golden chance to take the lead in the 45th minute as the Lady Bucks were called for a foul inside the 18-yard box. Elko was awarded a penalty kick, but Jasmine Marchand stopped the shot with a diving save to her left.
"That was an amazing save by Jasmine," said the coach. "That was huge for us at the time."
The match, which was physical throughout, led to a penalty kick opportunity for Lowry six minutes later. Alyssa Jones was fouled in the box, leading to a shot by Caitlynn Cooper that hit the corner of the net.
"There has been a lot of penalty kicks given out this year," Rasor said. "We have been practicing them and Cooper nailed it. It was a great team effort by the entire team."
Lowry had the tough task of traveling to Truckee the next day to face the Wolverines. The match was originally set for September but was postponed due to the King Fire in California. Truckee won the match 5-0, but it didn't hurt the playoff chances for Lowry.
South Tahoe (12-0-1), Spring Creek (10-1-2) and Truckee (9-1-2) have clinched playoff berths for the regional championships to be played in Truckee on Nov. 7-8.
Elko (6-4-4) played to a 0-0 tie with Spring Creek on Saturday and has 22 points in fourth. Lowry (6-6-2) is fifth with 20 points. The top four teams advance to the regional. The Indians still have matches with Truckee and South Tahoe.
Lowry hosts Spring Creek tonight at 5 p.m. and the Lady Bucks will wear pink jerseys in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Spartans have won both meetings this year 1-0 and 4-2. Lowry closes out the season on Thursday at home against Sparks at 4 p.m.
If Lowry beats either Spring Creek and Sparks and Elko loses its final two matches, the Lady Bucks advance to the playoffs.
"We need to play tough in these last two matches," Rasor said. "It should be a fun couple matches."
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