We are almost to October and the Lowry High School girls soccer team finally got the chance to play in the friendly confines of its home field on Saturday morning.
The Lady Bucks played their first six matches on the road and two others canceled due to dense smoke from the King Fire in California, including the original home-opener on Thursday, Sept. 18, against Sparks.
Lowry took on Fernley, a squad that beat them one time a season ago and the Vaqueros were looking to pull the surprise once again. Fernley grabbed the advantage in the 23rd minute, when Lowry could not clear the ball. The first shot was block by Lindsay Pate, but the Vaqueros were there for the rebound.
That was the only goal by Fernley, as Lowry scored the next four goals to win 4-1 and improve to 2-1-1 in the Division I-A North and 3-2-1 overall.
"We seem to give that first goal up every time we play," said LHS coach Melanie Rasor. "I felt we played well and settled down. We were dominating the play before the goal and we made a mistake and we didn't get back on our marks. Lindsay made a great save, but they were there for the rebound."
The lead lasted for just six minutes, as Audrey Snow connected on a shot from the middle of the field after getting a crossing pass.
Lowry took the lead for good with a goal from Iridiana Sapien-Gonzalez in extra time of the first half. The senior made her way through the defense and nailed the shot from 15 yards out.
The Lady Bucks extended the margin to 3-1 in the 59th minute, when Brittany Partee scored from 20 yards out on an assist by Caitlynn Cooper.
Lowry finished off the scoring in extra time in the second half, when Maddie Mayo scored from just outside the box after a foul was called on Fernley. Her shot floated to the top of the net and out of reach of the Vaquero goalie. Lowry played with a man advantage for the final 10 minutes, as a Fernley player was given a red card.
"We controlled the ball and passed well," Rasor said. "The one problem is finishing. We got to finish. We are leaving way too many goals on the field. We practice shooting all the time. Our defense is doing a good job and right the biggest thing is we are working as a team. Nothing changes when we put new girls in."
Lowry begins a tough stretch of four matches, starting tonight with a road trip to Spring Creek at 5 p.m.
The Lady Bucks host South Tahoe on Friday at 4 p.m. and Truckee on Monday at 4 p.m. The match with Truckee was set for Saturday, but moved to accomodate the Wolverines.
Lowry plays Churchill County for a second time on Tuesday, Oct. 7, in Winnemucca at 4 p.m. The Greenwave won 2-1 in Fallon earlier in the year.
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