The Lowry High School girls soccer team made some changes to its lineup and formation on Wednesday, looking to spark the squad in its match against Elko.
The Lady Bucks came into the match, losing three straight matches in the Northern 3A and have had trouble finding the net on offense. Despite the changes, Lowry was unable to shake off the losing streak and lost 2-0 to Elko.
“We put some new girls in there for a different look,” said LHS coach Ed Partee. “We did not play bad at all. I thought the girls did a good job.”
Elko jumped on the board in the fifth minute on a shot from about 25 yards out. The Elko player was left just open enough to get the open shot that went over the outstretched hands of Lowry goalie Lucy Ruiz. That turned out to be the only goal the Indians would need on the night.
Hailey Hinkle had Lowry's best scoring chance in the first half, but Elko's Lauryn Drake made a sliding save near the net,
The scoring chances picked up for the Lady Bucks in the second half, as Alexa Wolicki just missed tying up in the 42nd minute. However, her shot went just wide of the goal. Lowry had the advantage in the final 40 minutes, with the Elko goalie looking straight into the sun for the entire second half.
The Indians countered back three minutes later, but the shot sailed just high of the net and the score remained at 1-0.
Elko grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the 63rd minute on a shot that got past Ruiz after a scramble in front of the net. Lowry turned up the energy from there and pushed the pace of the contest. The Lady Bucks had scoring opportunities late in the match, with a shot by Hailey Fernandez just missing the goal in the 75th minute.
Lowry (1-4-1 Northern 3A. 4-5-1 overall) hosted league-leading Truckee on Friday. Results were not available at press time. The Lady Bucks close out the first half of the league schedule today (Saturday) at Sparks at noon.
Lowry returns home for three matches at home next week for Homecoming playing Spring Creek on Wednesday, North Tahoe on Friday and Incline on Saturday, Oct. 7.
The Lady Bucks play five of their final eight matches on their home field to conclude the season.
Lowry is currently tied for seven in the Northern 3A top division with Sparks. The top five finishing teams qualify for the regional championships, to be played in Winnemucca from Nov. 2-4 at the high school and Boys and Girls Club of Winnemucca.
Truckee (6-0-1), North Tahoe (5-1-1), South Tahoe (4-1-1), Incline (3-2-2) and Spring Creek (3-3-0) hold the top five spots.
White Pine (6-0-0), Whittell (3-1-0), Battle Mountain (3-2-1), Dayton (3-3-0), Pershing County (2-2-1) and Fernley (2-2-2) are fighting for the three playoff spots in the other 3A division.
