Even though the Lowry High School girls soccer team is out of the playoff chase, the Lady Bucks had the chance to ruin the postseason hopes of Elko on Tuesday afternoon in Winnemucca.
For nearly 60 minutes Lowry did just that leading Elko for much of the match, until the Indians scored two late goals to escape with a 2-1 win. Elko stayed in the fifth and final playoff spot with the victory.
“It’s coming together and it’s right there,” said LHS coach Misty Stene. “The first half was one of the best we played all year from the tactical side of the game. We just hit that lull for a couple minutes and it hurt us.”
Lowry quickly opened the scoring in the fifth minute off a shot by Emily Backus that got over the top of the Elko goalie.
The Lady Bucks controlled much of the play in the first 40 minutes and had another strong scoring opportunity late in the first half when Anjolie Karrer crossed a pass to Bailee Brinkerhoff in the box but the shot was wide of the goal.
As the second half began, so did the offensive pressure for Elko. The Indians started getting more scoring chances and finally tied the match at 1-1 in the 59th minute.
Lowry had an excellent chance to go back in front just minutes later, as Backus broke free form the Elko defense. However, the shot by the sophomore went left of the goal.
The Indians used the missed shot to their advantage and scored the winning goal in the 70th minute on a shot from the middle of the 18-yard box.
South Tahoe (14-0-3), Truckee (11-2-3), Spring Creek (8-5-4), North Tahoe (7-4-6) and Elko (7-5-5) have clinched the five playoff berths in the Northern 3A ‘A’ division.
The Northern 3A Regional Championships will take place Thursday-Saturday at Churchill County High School in Fallon.
The two teams in the championship match advance to the state tournament in Reno on Nov. 14-15.
Lowry (1-16-3 overall, 0-15-2 Northern 3A) closed out the season on Friday against North Tahoe.
Results were not available at press time. The Lady Bucks honored its four seniors Ariana Galindo, Julianna Gonzalez, Kelcey Cooper and Dacotah Anelli.
