Pirate Boys Lose To Virgin Valley, Boulder City

By GANNON HANEVOLD

Moapa Valley Progress

The Moapa Valley High School Boys’ Soccer team has been looking to make strides in the right direction all season long, and last week, the team might have done just that. Despite a pair of losses on the score sheet, the team displayed potential in both games.

The first game of the week for the Pirates came on the road against their rival Virgin Valley Bulldogs. In the first half, a goal by FJ Biebl put Moapa Valley on the board with an early 1-0 advantage. However, the Bulldogs responded with a score of their own to tie the game at one apiece.
At halftime, the score remained the same. Virgin Valley took the lead in the second half 2-1. But the game was knotted up once again as Israel Rubio scored a goal to make it 2-2.

With time running out, both sides looked to put one last decisive goal in the net. A penalty gave the Bulldogs that opportunity with just two minutes left. They put the goal in and left with a 3-2 victory in the first meeting of the year between the two rivals.
“We played really well and competed really hard,” said Pirazte coach Jared Bushman. “Virgin Valley has some really skilled fast players and took advantage of that.”

The second game of the week was played at home against the Eagles of Boulder City. The Pirates surrendered five goals in the first half as their opponent put on an offensive show.
Bushman attributed that more to the mistakes of his team rather than an exceptional performance by the Eagles. “They didn’t really earn anything,” he said. “We made mistakes and they capitalized on them. We had the ball most of the time, but then they would kick it long. It was just mental mistakes,” he said.

At halftime, Bushman challenged the team to come back in the second half with six goals. The team responded to that challenge and turned the tides of the game early on. Goals by Bryan Robles, Ryan Sorrells, and Israel Rubio thrust the Pirates right back into the game. All three goals came in the opening eight minutes of the second half.

The offensive attack continued, but the impressive comeback attempt was cut short by the Eagles. The final score remained at 5-3.
“We dominated the entire half like we should have done the entire game,” Bushman said. “If you look at the game, really it was just five first half mistakes. In the second half, they rallied around each other.”

Looking forward, the team isn’t planning on giving up any time soon. “We’re just going to fight as hard as we can to get some points from the big schools so we can get back into the race for the playoffs,” Bushman said. “We’re not out of it, and we’re not going to quit, because that’s just who we are.”