WINNEMUCCA - It still wasn't the start the Lowry High School varsity boys soccer team was looking for, but it didn't matter Saturday afternoon as the Buckaroos beat Dayton 8-2 in Winnemucca.
Lowry scored the first seven goals of the game to improve to 2-2-2 in the Division I-A North and 6-2-2 overall) while keeping the Dust Devils winless in league play.
"The start wasn't as good as it needed to be and we were a little frustrated with being offside a bunch of times," said LHS head coach Steve Swanson. "Dayton was running a trap really well and we were getting ourselves in trouble. We fixed it in the second half. It was an easy fix because of our speed and we just had to wait a second longer for the pass and we were OK."
Giovanni Hernandez kicked off the scoring in the 17th minute off an assist by Carlos Aguilar. The two switched roles 12 minutes later as Aguilar scored off a rebound after receiving a pass from Hernandez.
Hernandez netted his second goal of the first half and gave the Buckaroos a 3-0 lead at halftime after scoring on a cross from teammate Jordan Diaz.
It did not take long for the Buckaroos to take control of the match, scoring four times in the first 23 minutes of the second half to build the advantage to 7-0.
"We had things clicking pretty good in the second half," Swanson said. "We controlled the possession and passed the ball well. You could see Dayton was tired and we took advantage of that. Still, there is still another gear the guys didn't show today. The urgency when we play better teams was not there. We didn't let down and we played hard. There were a couple of mental mistakes that hurt us."
The first goal in the second half came on a throw in by Miguel Zavala and Aguilar did the rest as he dribbled down the field and scored in the 43rd minute. Thirteen minutes later, Aguilar scored when Dayton's goalie came out of the net and misplayed the ball, leaving the net wide open.
Alex Roark got into the scoring act in the 56th minute as he hit a 25-yard shot from the left side of the field that found the top corner of the net. The Buckaroos upped the margin to 7-0 two minutes later as Hernandez passed Aguilar the ball on a give and go and the senior did the rest from there.
Dayton prevented the shutout in the 65th minute as Jamie Avila scored on a free kick on a shot from just outside the 18-yard box. Avila added a second goal in the 75th minute.
"The free kick is something we need to work on," added the coach. "We have given up too many goals off of free kicks this year. It was a necessary win and we got the points we needed."
Lowry quickly answered as Orlando Pardini received a pass from Zavala and scored. Pardini was seeing time on the field after being replaced in goal just minutes earlier.
Lowry closes out the first half of the Division I-A North schedule this week, beginning with a road trip to Spring Creek on Thursday for a 4 p.m. start. The Buckaroos host Elko on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Fernley on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
"Spring Creek and Elko are the big matches for us," Swanson said. They have been beating pretty much everybody except for the Lake schools. We will see where we are after this week. I am confident that we will be OK."
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