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March 28, 2024 2:57 am
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Lady Pirates Go Up Against Tough Opponents In Mesquite Cup

By GANNON HANEVOLD

Moapa Valley Progress

Almost every year, the Lady Pirates soccer team kicks off the season with the Mesquite Cup, an annual tournament held in Virgin Valley. The tournament features teams from all around Southern Nevada.

This year, the Pirates saw tough competition in the tournament. But the team used the challenge to improve and to show their head coach, Lisa Cornwall, that they have what it takes to thrive on the field.
“I love this tournament because it gives me an opportunity to see my team,” Cornwall said. “Each year, you have a couple of players returning, but you also have players shifting positions.”

The Pirates’ first game came against Las Vegas High School. The Wildcats were undefeated at 8-0 in their 4A division last year. Despite the prestige that Las Vegas’ team carries into their games, the Pirates fought hard. A Wildcats goal in each half gave them the 2-0 victory. Las Vegas attributed one goal to senior Atziri Avila and the other to junior Maria Hernandez.
“They really did well,” Cornwall said about her team. “We just had a couple of little mistakes. In soccer and any other sport, when you have little mistakes often the other team capitalizes on it and takes advantage.”

Later that night, with a 9 PM start time, the Pirates took on the Pahrump Valley Trojans. Cornwall talked about the Trojans and their talent, saying, “I honestly felt like Pahrump was better than the first team we played. They had a lot of talent.”

In this game, the Pirates fell once again with a score of 3-0. However, the team showed once more that they had talent in various spots on the field, despite the inevitably shifting parts that come with the start of a season.
“Our team worked together really well,” Cornwall said. “We had to work some kinks out. I told them what I wanted them to work on and I could see them working as a team to change what they needed to in order to be successful.”

The Pirates rose bright and early the next morning to take on Clark in their last game of the Mesquite Cup. The game didn’t start how the Pirates had hoped, with Clark scoring the first two goals in the first half and taking a 2-0 lead going into the half time break.

In the second half, the Pirates responded and bounced back. They scored two goals of their own to tie the game up. One goal came on a penalty shot from Lexi Schraft. It was her first game back since sitting out last season with an injury. The other goal came off of the foot of Christie Eriksen.

But with just seconds remaining, the Chargers found a way to put a shot in goal and win the game.
“I’m just happy to get these games so we can work together and figure things out, so when we play league games, we will be ready to go,” Cornwall said.

A handful of players were missing due to injury or other reasons. Some players were moved around as well, including Lainey Cornwall, who typically plays defense. Coach Cornwall said she saw great results from various players that played different positions than usual.
“We put Lainey at the wing, and she created some great crosses for us,” Cornwall said.

The Pirates are seeing talent early in the season that can play at different spots on the field, making them more versatile than ever.
“We have to work on a few things, but more technical than anything,” Cornwall concluded. “We’re really excited for the season because we saw a lot of good things this weekend.”

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