By GANNON HANEVOLD
Moapa Valley Progress
The Moapa Valley High School Boys’ soccer team met their toughest contest of the season last week to start their slate of league games. The Pirates played defending state champion, Sunrise Mountain on Monday, September 17.
Through the first ten minutes of the game, the two teams went toe to toe with one another. Thanks to Sebastean Gutierrez’s two early goals, the Pirates found themselves tied with the visiting Miners. Gutierrez’ second goal came off of a long pass by Bryan Robles that left him open and charging up the middle for a score.
“When we make connections like that on the long ball, I think that’s when we’re best on offense,” said MVHS coach, Randy Tobler. “We have a more defensive formation so we have to transition quickly and play long balls if we want to be scoring goals.”
Soon after, the talent and athleticism of Sunrise Mountain’s eleven began to wear down the Pirates. The Miners scored three goals before the intermission whistle sounded. Suddenly Moapa Valley faced a mountain to climb.
In the second half, Moapa came out strong on defense once again, stopping many Miner opportunities. But about halfway through the second period, the Miners began breaking through and extending their lead. The Pirates slipped further and further eventually finding themselves in a hole too steep to climb out of.
A Bryan Robles goal that ricocheted off of a Sunrise Mountain defender stood as the lone goal on Moapa’s side in the second half. The final score would be 11-3, as a hat trick by the Miners’ Rodrigo Mayorga led them to a strong late game performance.
“I thought they started off really strong,” Tobler said of his team. “They were first to the ball and had a lot of energy. Sunrise Mountain is just a good team. They handle the ball well and spread it around.”
Even so, Tobler expected more out of the team’s determination in the second half. “I guess my philosophy is whether it’s 6-2 or 11-2, it doesn’t really matter,” Tobler said. “The boys need to know we’re still fighting for the game. I kept the same lineup and didn’t want to mess with anything new that may disrupt us.”
Tobler’s decision to roll with the same set of players reaffirms his confidence in the team he puts out on the field.
Perhaps the biggest boost of excitement to a program in search of optimism was the younger team’s performance. “I think it’s a confidence boost after talking as a team,” Tobler said. “Our JV team tied against Sunrise Mountain 2-2, and we were winning the game until the last ten minutes, so we’ve never had that mentioned before even in the same sentence.”
Another sign of growth for the Pirates came via a conversation Moapa Valley’s coach had with senior captain, Bryan Robles.
“After talking with Bryan, he said they’ve never scored three times on Sunrise Mountain,” said Tobler. “And I talked with their coaches and they didn’t take their starters out until the sixth goal, which says something about our boys. The other coaches believed the game was still in reach.”
While it wasn’t a pretty loss on the scoreboard, the game tells a lot about where Moapa Valley’s soccer program is headed. The only direction from here is up.
