WINNEMUCCA - With the number of playoff teams cut in half in the Division I-A North this fall, there is little room for a slip up during the regular season.
Unfortunately, that happened to the Lowry High School varsity girls soccer team on Monday in Fernley. The Lady Bucks entered the match in the middle of the pack in the league standings at 1-3, while the Vaqueros came in winless in three opportunities.
The Lady Bucks (1-4 Division I-A North, 4-4-1 overall) picked up an early goal from Kenadee Jeppsen in the first half, but it was not enough as the Vaqueros rallied to win the game 2-1.
"We did everything but win the game," said LHS head coach Chris Entwistle. "We looked just asleep from the get go and not ready to play. We still dominated the possession and we had more shots on goal. Fernley had two shots on goal and scored on both of them. I don't know if the girls thought it was going to be easy after we scored that quick goal. Once Fernley tied it up, they knew they were in for a fight the rest of the way."
Jeppsen scored her goal off an assist by Irdiana Gonzalez within the first two minutes of play. Jeppsen was under the weather suffering from a cold but pushed herself through the sickness, the coach said.
Fernley tied the match about midway through the first half on a shot by Maria Sanchez that got by goalie Megan Lombardi. The junior goalkeeper attempted to punch the shot out, but the ball just crossed the goal line at the same time.
"We had trouble adjusting to the speed of the field," said the coach. "We prepared by practicing on our track, but you just can't mimic how fast the field turf is. Our touch was just a bit off and they were getting a bit frustrated."
The Vaqueros recorded the game-winning goal in the second half, when the same girl split three Lowry defenders and hit a shot into the back of the net.
"They are an OK team, with one very good player," added the coach. "It was our own mistakes that cost us on both goals. On the second goal she went through three of our defenders. No one came out and challenged her. Looking back, I should have had two girls on her and follow her everywhere she went."
The Lady Bucks will look to get back on the winning track when they host Dayton on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Dust Devils come in winless in league play with losses to Sparks, Spring Creek, Truckee and Elko.
"The loss to Fernley hurts badly in the playoff race," Entwistle said. "This was one we could not lose. We are going to have start winning games that we are not supposed to. We have to ready to come out and play against Dayton. Nothing against Dayton, but we have to come out and make a statement that we are one of the better teams in the league."
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