WINNEMUCCA - Through the first month of the season, the Lowry High School varsity girls soccer team has had the chance to see the vast scenery of northern Nevada and California.
The Lady Bucks opened their year with nine road matches, but finally got a look at their home field on Tuesday versus Battle Mountain.
Lowry, who went winless in three matches last week in Elko, took out its frustrations against Battle Mountain, winning 11-0.
"It is a tough game to play and we respect Battle Mountain for coming out," said LHS head coach Chris Entwistle. "We want to treat other teams how we want to be treated. We don't like it when other teams come in and are disrespectful. Battle Mountain is a very young team and in a rebuilding mode. They came out and played hard. We love having the opportunity to play our neighbors."
Lowry's Monique Rodriguez set the tone early, as the sophomore scored twice within the first two minutes of the match. Irdiana Gonzalez and Ashley McKinnon added goals in the seventh and ninth minute, respectively, for a 4-0 advantage.
From that point on, the Lady Bucks began moving its players into different spots on the field for the rest of the match.
"This kind of match is good for you to work on things," Entwistle said. "We still realize we have to work on crosses and we did that in the second half. We hope to see Battle Mountain's program grow and get better and wanted to be respectful to them."
Freshman Maddie Mayo got onto the scoreboard in the 20th minute on a shot from 20 yards out. Rikki Hamilton and Caitlynn Cooper, a pair of defenders, picked up goals in the 35th and 37th minute, respectively. Monica Gallarzo had the assist on Hamilton's goal and Cooper's goal was assisted by Hamilton. It was Cooper's first career high school goal and the second for Hamilton.
Adrianna Bautista provided the ninth and final goal of the first half as she scored on an assist by Megan Lombardi in the 38th minute.
The Lady Bucks scored twice more in the second half, the first on an own goal by the Lady Longhorns in the 45th minute. Savannah Ingram, the regular goalkeeper for Lowry, scored in the 47th minute to account for the final goal.
Lowry (3-5-3, overall, 1-4-1 Division I-A, 1-0 Ruby Mountain) played three girls as goalkeeper, including Ingram, Cooper and Lombardi.
"We were able to do the things that we needed to work on," said the coach. "We got some girls some playing time and rested girls that had injuries."
Lowry finished up its crossover matches last Friday in Elko and came away with a tie and two losses. The Lady Bucks lost 3-1 to Dayton on Friday, Sept. 14, a team they beat 4-0 in the season-opener. Lowry played to a 1-1 tie against Fernley on Saturday and lost 3-0 to Churchill County, also on Saturday.
"It was one of those weekends where a black cloud followed us from field to field," Entwistle said. "Everything that could go wrong did."
Dayton jumped on the board early in the first half on a penalty kick, after a Lowry player was called for a foul after slipping on the wet field.
"I don't know if Elko had a rainstorm the night before or if they watered down the fields, but every match we played the field was saturated," added the coach. "On that play our girl slipped and knocked down the Dayton player."
The Dust Devils scored off two free kicks from just outside the box for their other two goals. The Lady Bucks prevented the shutout with a late goal by Rodriguez off an assist by Anna Davis.
"Dayton took advantage of the opportunities that we gave them," said the coach. "We controlled much of the play but struggled to finish."
Lowry dominated the time of possession in the match with Fernley, but once again had trouble putting the ball in the net. Entwistle noted that the Fernley goalie made a number of good saves.
Rodriguez scored the Lady Buckaroos' goal and gave Lowry a 1-0 lead in the first half. The Vaqueros tied the match after a Fernley player collided with Ingram in the box and shot into the open net.
Lowry's bad luck followed them into the final match of the weekend against Churchill County. The Lady Bucks and Greenwave played to ties in their last three meetings, but it was Churchill County who pulled out the win this time.
The Greenwaves' Madeline Alegre scored in the 15th minute to provide a 1-0 advantage. The Lady Bucks appeared to tie the match halfway through the first half, but a goal by Rodriguez was disallowed. Lowry received a free kick after the foul but could not score.
"Alyssa (Jones) received a pass and passed the ball off to Monique where she was taken down," said the coach. "Monique took the shot and scored but the official stopped the play for an advantage call and took away the goal. That goal changes all the momentum and it is a different game."
Alegre and Mary Decker added goals in the second half, giving Churchill County a 3-0 lead and accounting for the final score.
Lowry hosts Elko Saturday at 11a.m.
"It was one of those weekends you shake off and we have to get ready for Elko," Entwistle said. "Our playoff chances took a hit, but we have to shake it off and come back strong."
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