The Pahrump Valley High School varsity girls soccer team continued to push offensively throughout its road matchup against Cimarron-Memorial High School on Wednesday, Aug. 26, finding the net multiple times while creating additional opportunities in front of the goal.
The Trojans faced an early deficit but continued working the ball forward and eventually broke through late in the first half. Pahrump added to its total after halftime as Paola Aguilar Alarcon remained a consistent threat around the goal.
Goalkeeper Jazmyn Herrera was tested almost immediately, making her first save just three minutes into the match. Cimarron-Memorial took a 1-0 lead shortly afterward when an attempt by the Pahrump defense to clear the ball resulted in an own goal.
Herrera came up with another stop in the sixth minute, catching a shot from the left side against her chest. The Spartans managed to add another goal a minute later, sending a shot from the right side into the upper left portion of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
Pahrump began creating opportunities of its own. The Trojans sent a ball across the middle in the ninth minute, but the Cimarron-Memorial goalkeeper came out to collect it. Another attempt to play a through ball moments later was also intercepted.
On the defensive end, Kylee Lusk battled to break up a Cimarron-Memorial through ball in the 10th minute, knocking it away and forcing a corner kick. Herrera stepped in front of another shot a minute later to keep it out of the net.
Avery Farruggia worked to move the Trojans into the attacking third, sending a ball forward in the 12th minute before Pahrump earned a free kick from about 25 yards out. The free kick rolled across the front of the goal, but the Trojans were unable to get the finishing touch.
Farruggia continued creating opportunities, centering a ball in the 16th minute as Aguilar Alarcon fought to reach it. On the other end, Cindal Monahan cleared a Cimarron-Memorial cross away from danger.
The Spartans extended their lead to 3-0 on a long shot in the 21st minute, but Pahrump continued looking for openings. Sydney Crotty put a long shot on frame in the 27th minute, forcing the keeper to make a save above her head. Crotty advanced again in the 33rd minute and fired another shot that was stopped.
Herrera answered with a save of her own moments later.
Pahrump’s persistence paid off in the 35th minute. Farruggia worked down the left side and sent a cross into the middle, where Aguilar Alarcon battled through pressure from the defense and finished the play for the Trojans’ first goal.
Farruggia took another shot in the 39th minute, while Herrera made one more save before halftime to send Pahrump into the break trailing 3-1.
Cimarron-Memorial scored seven minutes into the second half to make it 4-1. Pahrump responded by sending a shot from distance toward the goal a minute later, while Herrera made a diving stop in the ninth minute.
The Spartans added another goal in the 11th minute, but Herrera followed with another save shortly afterward.
Melissa Nunez-Ramirez helped generate one of Pahrump’s better opportunities in the 13th minute, firing from the right side. Aguilar Alarcon was positioned near the goal and attempted to finish the play, but the Trojans could not convert.
The combination worked the next time around.
In the 20th minute, Nunez-Ramirez sent the ball in from the right side and connected with Aguilar Alarcon, who finished the play for her second goal of the game and cut the score to 5-2.
Pahrump continued to attack as the half progressed. A long shot in the 28th minute tested the Cimarron-Memorial defense, and Herrera collected another shot at the opposite end a minute later.
Aguilar Alarcon made another charge toward the goal in the 31st minute, forcing the Spartans’ keeper to come off her line to intercept before a shot could develop. Pahrump followed with another attempt from distance that bounced into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Herrera added another save in the 33rd minute before Cimarron-Memorial found the net again.
The Trojans kept pressing late in the match. Nunez-Ramirez fired from the right side in the 34th minute, with Aguilar Alarcon once again positioned in front looking for the rebound before the keeper secured the ball.
A minute later, Pahrump converted another opportunity. Farruggia delivered a well-placed corner kick from the left side, and Nunez-Ramirez finished it for the Trojans’ third goal of the match.
Despite playing from behind, the Trojans continued looking for opportunities rather than allowing the early deficit to dictate the remainder of the match. Their persistence resulted in three goals and several additional chances, including two goals in the second half as Pahrump continued challenging the Cimarron-Memorial defense.
With another early-season match behind them, the Trojans will have plenty to build on as they continue developing their connections across the field and turning those opportunities into results.
