The Pahrump Valley High School varsity boys soccer team opened its season with plenty of offense Wednesday, Aug. 26, earning a 6-4 victory over Cristo Rey at home in Pahrump.
The Trojans generated scoring opportunities throughout the match and carried a 3-1 advantage into halftime before adding three more goals in the second half. Cristo Rey made a late push to narrow the gap, but Pahrump answered with a final goal to secure the season-opening win.
Pahrump began putting pressure on the Cristo Rey defense early. Roberto Gonzalez-Gonzalez tested the goalkeeper with a shot on goal, followed by multiple attempts from TC Hone. The Trojans soon broke through when Ryan Nunez Manzo found the net to give Pahrump a 1-0 lead.
The opportunities continued. Rafael Sanchez Veliz had a shot stopped by the Cristo Rey goalkeeper, and a penalty against Cristo Rey later gave Gonzalez-Gonzalez a penalty kick opportunity. His attempt sailed high, keeping the Trojans’ advantage at one.
Cristo Rey eventually found an equalizer, sending a shot just beyond the reach of Pahrump goalkeeper Jessie Barajas-Roman to make it 1-1.
Pahrump responded by going back on the attack. Nunez Manzo sent a cross to a teammate in front of the goal, and the ensuing shot found the net to put the Trojans back in front, 2-1. Nunez Manzo continued to create opportunities, putting another shot on goal that was handled by the Cristo Rey keeper.
The Trojans kept the pressure on as the first half wound down. A Cristo Rey penalty gave Nunez Manzo a free kick opportunity that was caught by the goalkeeper, while Hone also put another shot on frame in the final minutes.
Another Cristo Rey penalty late in the half resulted in a yellow card and gave Hone a chance from the ensuing free kick. Hone capitalized, putting the ball into the net to extend Pahrump’s lead to 3-1 just before halftime.
The Trojans carried their attack into the second half. Lorenzo Montaño delivered a cross to Marcell Lopez, who finished the opportunity to give Pahrump a 4-1 advantage.
Cristo Rey responded with several attempts of its own. One free kick struck the upper crossbar, and another shot went off the top of the goal. Barajas-Roman also came up with a save as the visitors tried to cut into Pahrump’s lead.
At the other end, Randall Pangilinan put a shot on goal that was collected by the Cristo Rey keeper, while Sanchez Veliz had an attempt blocked. Gonzalez-Gonzalez followed with another strong shot that went off the goalkeeper’s hands and over the goal.
Pahrump’s fifth goal developed from another Nunez Manzo cross. This time Gonzalez-Gonzalez was on the receiving end and finished the play, extending the Trojans’ lead to 5-1.
The Trojans continued searching for more, hitting the top of the goal on one attempt. Hone later had a shot deflected, with Pahrump getting a second opportunity off the rebound that went over the goal.
Cristo Rey mounted a late comeback, taking advantage when Pahrump’s goalkeeper came away from the net to play the ball and scoring to make it 5-2. A deep Cristo Rey attempt then went off the top of the goalkeeper’s hands and into the net, cutting the lead to 5-3.
The visitors added another goal to pull within one at 5-4, putting pressure on the Trojans in the closing portion of the match.
Pahrump, however, had an answer. After additional Trojan attempts were sent high and blocked, Gonzalez-Gonzalez found the net for his second goal of the match, giving Pahrump some breathing room at 6-4.
That goal closed out the scoring and sealed the victory, sending the Trojans off the field with a win in their first match of the season.
