WINNEMUCCA - On paper, the Lowry High School varsity girls soccer team did not have a chance to win as it hosted Churchill County on Tuesday afternoon.
The Greenwave came into the match third in the Division III North standings, just three points behind league-leading South Tahoe. Meanwhile, the Lady Bucks were in sixth place with 15 points, with slim playoff hopes still alive.
But as the saying goes - that is why you play the game.
Churchill County jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but had to withstand a furious Lowry rally in the second half to hold on and win 2-1.
"We can't buy a break this year," said LHS head coach Chris Entwistle. "We out-possessed them; we out-shot Fallon; we had the better opportunities. We had a couple of chances at the end and just could not convert."
Churchill County broke a scoreless tie in the 30th minute. Macy Meyers scored off a cross in front of the goal. Four minutes later, the Greenwave added to their advantage, scoring off a corner kick on a shot by Madeline Alegre. However, that proved to be all the scoring for Churchill County.
Lowry cut the deficit in half, five minutes into the second half off a long shot by Maddie Mayo. The Churchill County goalkeeper could not handle the shot from about 20 yards out, as the ball went off her hands and into the goal.
"We actually caught a bit of a break with some unsure hands of the Fallon goalie," Entwistle said. "But a goal is a goal and we haven't got the breaks like that all year."
Lowry continued to dominate the possession the rest of the second half and had a chance to tie the match at 2-2, but a shot by Monique Rodriguez sailed just above an open net.
The Lady Bucks had another opportunity to come away with one point from the match but a shot by Audrey Snow was deflected out by Churchill County goalie Erin Nelson. That was the final play of the game as the Lady Bucks were not given the opportunity for a corner kick.
Lindsay Pate had 10 saves on the day for the Lady Bucks.
"Lindsay did a good job and our defense played well," said the coach. "We have two sophomores and freshman playing as our defenders and a sophomore goal keeper. We are young."
"That is why the game is played on the field," added the coach. "On paper, we should have no business being in the game. We played well against a pretty good team. My girls have matured so much this year. It is a much different team from when we started the year. If we start the season at this level, I know we have the capability of being one of the top teams in the league. The girls have heart. I ask them to do something and they go out and do that and more."
Lowry made the long trip to South Tahoe last Saturday to take on the first-place Vikings. The match was scoreless at halftime, but South Tahoe pulled away with four goals in the first 30 minutes of the second half to win 4-0.
Allison King scored twice for the Vikings and Cassidy Jackson and Ashlee Schouten scored once.
"This is the second time we played well against South Tahoe," Entwistle said. "It was scoreless at halftime and we had our chances to score. We just need to finish our shots."
Lowry is now 5-8 in the Division I-A North and 9-8-1 overall. The Lady Bucks have been eliminated for playoff contention.
Lowry hosted Truckee on Thursday and results were not available at press time. The Lady Bucks travel to Spring Creek on Thursday for a 4 p.m. match and close out the season on Friday, Nov. 1, against Elko at home at 4 p.m.
"We are playing for pride in our last couple of games," Entwistle said. "We want show teams that we are a respectable team. I couldn't be prouder of my girls."
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