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South Tahoe girls soccer gets offense on track in home debut, downs Sparks 5-1

Anthony Gentile
agentile@tahoedailytribune.com
South Tahoe junior Annie Brejc tracks down a ball in front of a Sparks defender during a league match Friday, Sept. 9, at South Tahoe Middle School.
Anthony Gentile / Tahoe Daily Tribune |

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — In its first home match of the season, the South Tahoe girls soccer team got its attack on track. The Vikings beat Sparks 5-1 on Friday, Sept. 9, at South Tahoe Middle School to continue an unbeaten start to 3A Northern League play.

“You want to get off on the right foot, especially on a surface that you train on — there’s really no excuses,” Vikings coach Mark Salmon said. “It was a pretty dominating performance and it has definitely built the girls’ confidence.”

South Tahoe (2-2, 2-0 3A Northern) scored two goals in a five-minute span late in the first half Friday to take a two-goal lead into the break. The Vikings added three more after halftime — including two from senior Ana Garcia — en route to a comfortable victory over Sparks (2-4, 0-2).



“We needed to get the offense going, and this was certainly the game that did that,” Salmon said.

Junior Samantha Frates opened the scoring in the 31st minute Friday, finishing her second attempt off a rebound from close range. Five minutes later, junior Bailey Segers struck from outside the box with a shot that curled into the top left corner of the net — her first of two goals in the contest.



“Bailey came off the bench against Lowry, and she had a good week in practice so I wanted to give her a chance,” Salmon said. “She started against Sparks and took advantage of it — she played outstanding and she did a little bit of everything.”

After the break, Garcia scored twice and Segers added her second. The Railroaders scored to avoid a shutout, but the Vikings remained in control.

“Our speed of play in the attacking third was crisp and we created a lot of opportunities,” Salmon said. “As much as we didn’t finish them — and that’s a piece of the puzzle — the creation and getting the ball into good areas is more important right now.”

Senior Jennifer Valdivia had two assists Friday, while Garcia and junior Lulu Gutierrez added one apiece. South Tahoe scored a season-high five times in the victory after totaling three goals in its first three matches.

“What we have been doing well is the build-up piece with the back two-thirds,” Salmon said. “We’re getting the ball out of the back and through the central third — but we were missing the final piece in the attacking third.”

South Tahoe returns to action Wednesday, Sept. 14, at Incline. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m., with a boys game after as part of a doubleheader.

VIKINGS BOYS SOCCER SUFFERS FIRST LEAGUE LOSS

SPARKS, Nev. — The South Tahoe boys soccer team fell at unbeaten Sparks 6-1 on Friday. The defeat was the Vikings’ first in 3A Northern League play.

South Tahoe (1-3, 1-1 3A Northern) trailed 2-1 at halftime before the hosts broke the game open. Sparks (7-0, 2-0) scored four times after the break to win decisively; the Railroaders are ranked No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps and have won their first two league games by a combined 10-1 margin.


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