The Pahrump Valley High School girls’ soccer team carried momentum from a solid showing at the Mater East tournament, the 2nd Annual Lady Knights Joust, into their Monday, September 29, home game against Boulder City, ending the match in a hard-fought 1–1 draw.
Head Coach Amy Carlson said the team finished third overall at the Mater East tournament, narrowly missing the championship by a single goal. “We ended third with the tie to Mater East in our first game—it kept us out of the championship by one point,” Carlson explained. “That tie, literally by one goal, kept us out of the championship game, which is usually the story of our life here with all of our ties.”
The Trojans tied Mater East 2–2, fell 4–2 to Equipo, and finished strong with a 6–1 victory over Cristo Rey. Despite missing two key players—Natalie Soto and Paola Aguilar—Carlson said she was proud of her team’s perseverance across the three-day stretch. “Considering that, and the weather, and how they haven’t played that many games in a row, it wasn’t bad,” she said. “They came to play after, even though it was day three—they played unbelievable against Cristo Rey. I fully believe that if they would have made it to the championship game, they would have had it.”
Returning home Monday, the Trojans took on Boulder City, the No. 2 team in the league, and once again came up just one goal shy of victory.
In the first half, both teams traded opportunities before Pahrump found the net late in the period. After a series of saves from goalkeeper Julie Briggs, who denied multiple Boulder shots, the Trojans broke through at the 2:40 mark when Juliana’s shot deflected to Natalie Soto, who finished to give Pahrump a 1–0 lead heading into halftime.
The second half began with Boulder City pressing hard. They evened the score at 1–1 just over five minutes in with a shot that found its mark at 34:15. Despite continued pressure, Briggs remained sharp in goal, stopping several more shots and even catching two penalty kicks to keep the game level. The Trojans had a late chance on a penalty kick of their own from Natalia, but it went just wide, and the match ended in a 1–1 tie.
Carlson said while the draw was an improvement from their earlier loss to Boulder City, she’s still looking for more drive from her players. “The girls saw some rough officiating, but we can’t really claim that as the cause,” she said. “They played much better than they did last time. Last time we lost to Boulder City, so this was much more encouraging.”
Still, she added, the team needs to find its inner spark. “They seem to almost give up on themselves,” Carlson said. “They don’t have that fire within—that ‘we won’t lose’ mentality that teams in the past have had. It’s not being frustrated with them, it’s being frustrated for them. We know what they have. They literally held Boulder City, they competed.”
Despite the frustrations, Carlson said there were positives to take away. “They didn’t get down, they didn’t bicker—they did hold it together, so that’s some growth,” she said. “Hopefully this motivates them. Ultimately, we’re in regionals, but we’ve got a couple games left to find that drive.”
The Trojans are currently fifth in the league standings, with the top six teams advancing to regionals. They’ll look to continue building momentum when they travel to face Desert Pines on Monday, October 6, in a non-league game.
