WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School varsity boys soccer team had to adjust to the fact that they were playing a match at home for the first time on Tuesday night.
The Buckaroos played its first nine matches of the year on the road, with trips to Fallon, Truckee and Elko. Lowry gave its home crowd something to cheer about, with a 6-0 victory over Battle Mountain.
"We were a little lazy in the first half and were not passing well or talking," said LHS head coach Steve Swanson. "We were taking the game for granted. "The second half was much better with our passing and communication. Our guys finally learned to make the through-ball pass. Battle Mountain's goalkeeper did a good job of saving a lot of shots. He had an excellent game against us."
The Buckaroos (4-5-1 overall, 2-4-0 Division I-A, 1-0 Ruby Mountain) picked up goals from three different players in the first half. Luis Hernandez accounted for the first goal in the 15th minute off an assist by Carlos Aguilar. Ten minutes later, Giovanni Hernandez connected on a kick from about 15 yards on an assist by Luis Hernandez and in the 18th minute, Carlos Aguilar scored the first of three goals to give the Buckaroos a 3-0 advantage at halftime. His goal was assisted by Luis Hernandez as well.
Aguilar picked up the hat trick, as he scored the first two Buckaroo goals of the second half to extend the lead to 5-0. Giovanni Hernandez concluded the scoring in the 76th minute.
"We had a lot of opportunities to score in the second half," Swanson said. "Pretty much everybody got time on the field and subs played quite a bit. We were able to spread the goals around. Overall, I was pleased with our play."
Lowry concluded its series of crossover games this past weekend in Elko, with three matches against Lahontan League schools. The Buckaroos lost 1-0 to Dayton on Friday, Sept. 14, but came back to beat Fernley 4-1 and Churchill County 2-1 on Saturday.
Lowry possessed the ball about 75 percent of the match with Dayton but could not find the back of the net for goal. The Dust Devils scored the winning goal late in the first half.
"We had a lot of shots on goal but bypassed a number of opportunities as well," Swanson said. "The Dayton goalkeeper played an outstanding game and made a bunch of saves. We did everything we wanted against them, except score."
The Buckaroos didn't have trouble scoring in their win over Fernley, knocking in four goals in the first half. Luis Hernandez scored twice and Aguilar and Giovanni Hernandez had one goal each.
"It was our first game of the day and guys came out and played hard," said the coach. "We played very well in the first half and got a lot of subs in the second half. We had another game later in the day, so I rested our guys."
Since Churchill County dropped down to the Division I-A in 2010, Lowry has had no luck with the school. That all changed on Saturday afternoon, with the Buckaroos winning by one goal.
The Greenwave led 1-0 at halftime on the strength of a penalty kick by Junior Martinez.
"We have had three penalty kicks called against us this year and not one player has fallen down to the ground," Swanson said. "The official said we were pulling the shirt of a Fallon kid. (Roberto) Sanchez just about made the save on the shot."
The Buckaroos buckled down from there, and dominated the match in the second half. Chris Mendoza scored the equalizing goal off an assist by Aguilar and Aguilar put Lowry in front 2-1 minutes later on an assist by Escobedo.
"We outplayed them for the entire game," Swanson said. "I was proud of my guys for the way the played. This is our first win over Fallon for us."
Lowry is back at home Saturday to play Elko at 1 p.m. The matchup will be crucial in the playoff seeding for later in the year.
"Fallon beat Elko 2-0 last week, but I have watched both of them play and I think Elko is the better team. This game will be a tough one. We have folded against them the last couple of times that we have played them. I am certain my guys aren't going to let that happen again."
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