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Vikes kick off season with title

Jeremy Evans

After losing 13 seniors off last year’s team that won the Sierra Division, South Tahoe soccer coach Chris DeLeon was curious to see how his team would start the 2005 season. Apparently, he didn’t have much to worry about.

The Vikings reeled off five straight wins, including a 2-0 win over 3A power Truckee in the championship game, en route to a first-place finish at the Howell Memorial Preseason Tournament at Galena High School on Saturday.

Ernesto Mosqueda led the team in scoring with five goals, while a host of starters and subs contributed to the tournament victory. South Tahoe even posted a 2-0 win over preseason Sierra Division favorite Carson in its third game of the tournament.



“Carson looks solid,” DeLeon said. “They don’t have any weaknesses on the field. They are still the team to beat. They’re going to better throughout the season. Hopefully we also get better like they do.”

The Vikings started off the tournament with a 4-0 win over Reed on Friday in Reno. Milton Montoya opened the scoring in the first half, then Mosqueda scored twice in the second half and Eric Sandoval also scored. Sophomore goalie Gil Navarro stepped in for regular starter Alfredo Solorio against the Raiders and posted his first varsity shutout.



Against North Tahoe on Saturday, the two teams were tied at 1 following regulation and the game entered a penalty kick shootout. After the first five kickers, Solorio saved a North Tahoe shot and Alex Hand scored the winning kick for the Vikings.

In the next game against Carson, Mosqueda scored a second-half goal and the Senators committed an own goal in the shutout victory. Solorio made a kick save in the second half off a Senator shot that would’ve tied it at 1.

However, Navarro was the team’s goalie the next two games because Solorio had to return to South Shore and work in the afternoon. So later on Saturday, the Vikings’ deep and talented bench was put on display.

Against Bishop Manogue, Mosqueda gave South Tahoe a 1-0 lead but the Miners came back to tie it at 1. But a second-half goal from Derek Simon proved to be the game-winner. Simon came off the bench and scored a beautiful header off a corner kick to give the Vikings a 2-1 victory and a spot in the championship game.

Truckee, which had scored 13 goals in wins over Galena, Douglas, Reno and Incline, was a tough match for the Vikings. Although the Wolverines beat South Tahoe in this same tournament last year, this year turned out to be different. Jamie Estrada scored the first goal for South Tahoe, then an own goal by Truckee finished the scoring.

“The subs really stepped up for us this tournament, starting with Derek Simon,” DeLeon said. “His goal really set the tone for the rest of the tournament. And Gil saved us by playing goalie. It was a good weekend for us.”

The Vikings play Galena at 3 p.m. on Wednesday in Reno.

Whittell boys soccer at Quincy tournament

Johnny Bones and Christian Hernandez each scored goals and the Whittell High Warriors boys’ soccer team beat Golden Sierra 3-2 in the fourth-place game on Saturday at the Quincy Tournament.

Whittell went 3-2 in its five games at the tournament, including wins over host Quincy and Plumas Christian on Saturday. Fifteen teams participated in the tournament.

On Friday, the Warriors lost a pair of 1-0 decisions, the first to Redding (Calif.) Christian and the other to the Spanish Springs’ varsity team.

Against Quincy, Cody Harrington and Jonathan Sosa each scored goals as the two teams were tied 2-2 after regulation. The game then went into penalty kicks, which the Warriors won.

In a 3-2 win over Plumas Christian later on Saturday, Harrington scored two goals and Sosa added the other in the one-goal victory. In the fourth-place game against Golden Sierra, Sosa assisted on both goals.

The Whittell JV went 2-3 in the tournament. The Warriors’ next game is on Sept. 6 at Quincy.


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