One could not blame the Lowry High School girls soccer team if it had some tired legs on Tuesday afternoon.
The Lady Bucks were playing their third match in five days, including in back-to-back days as Churchill County made the trip to Winnemucca on Tuesday.
Lowry controlled most of the match, but needed a goal in the 76th minute to salvage a 1-1 tie and move to 2-4-2 in the Division I-A North and 3-5-3 overall.
"It was to to get that goal and a the tie," said LHS coach Melanie Rasor. "It is a big point to get. We had a lot of breakaway chances and just couldn't score. That continues to be our biggest problem."
The chances for Lowry came fast and furious in the first half, as Maddie Mayo missed just left of the net in the eighth minute. Two minutes later, Monique Rodriguez had a breakaway opportunity, but her shot was saved by the Churchill County goalie
Rodriguez had another chance in the 15th minute, but the Lady Bucks could not convert there as well. Alyssa Jones had a shot at the net as she got a crossing pass from Rodriguez in the 27th minute, but that shot was wide of the net.
Churchill County had few chances in the first half, but scored on a breakdown by the Lowry defense in the 36th minute to lead 1-0 at halftime.
The Lady Bucks kept on pressing in the second half and appeared to score the equalizing goal, but a shot by Jones was stopped by the fingertips of the Greenwave goalie. Audrey Snow fired a shot in the 72nd minute, which the Churchill County goalie had to jump and save.
Lowry finally broke through in the 76th minute, when Rodriguez and Jones moved down the field on a breakaway. Rodriguez crossed the ball over to Jones, who deposited the ball in the left corner of the net.
"I thought we came out played a lot better than we did against (South) Tahoe and Truckee," Rasor said. "We did some good things and the girls who came in off the bench played well. We have a team where I can't put girls in different spots."
Lowry hosted Truckee on Monday, with the Wolverines winning 5-1. Truckee scored three goal in the first 23 minutes and never trailed. The Lady Bucks had a couple of scoring chances in the first half, but could not capitalize on the chances.
Truckee extended the lead to 4-0 in the 55th minute, when Lowry climbed on to the scoreboard. Freshman Bailey Sapien was fouled in the box and Rodriguez converted the penalty kick. The Wolverines closed out the scoring in the second half.
"We made some adjustments and I thought we played a lot better in the second half," Rasor said. "I don't think our heads were really into it until the second half."
Lowry is still in the playoff hunt, but needs to climb above a couple of schools to secure the fourth and final playoff spot. South Tahoe (7-0-1) and Spring Creek (6-1-1 are first and second, respectively, in the Division I-A North. Truckee (5-0-2) is third, Elko (4-3-1) is fourth and Churchill County (4-4-1) is fifth.
Lowry travels to Sparks on Saturday for a noon match and are back on the road to South Tahoe on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. start.[[In-content Ad]]
