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Viking boys stay undefeated, claim first place

by dan thomas

South Tahoe’s boys remained the only unbeatens in Northern Nevada 4A soccer, taking control of first place with a 3-0 win at Reno on Friday.

Both teams were unbeaten early last week, setting the stage for a tough first-place battle, but Reno dropped its first game of the season on Wednesday, 3-2 to Carson. South Tahoe, though, stayed unbeaten through the week, and continued to take care of business at Reno.

“We wanted to come out and win and kind of prove to the league we are for real,” said South Tahoe head coach Joe Winters, whose Vikings improved to 13-0-3 overall (8-0-3 in league play) with the win and Wednesday’s forfeit win over Wooster.



On Friday, South Tahoe capitalized on three of its 15 chances, while keeping Reno’s offense on its heels. The Vikings held onto the ball for most of the game, and kept Reno from combining passes effectively. South Tahoe midfielder Paul Wilson and sweeper William Aguilar led a defensive effort that kept the pressure off South Tahoe’s goalies, as Peter Chiarpotti and Pat Reardon only needed to make two saves apiece.

The visiting Vikings opened the scoring in the game’s 23rd minute, when Andy Butcher collected a rebound from Evan Baker’s shot and scored. The Vikings opened the game up in the second half. In the 44th minute, right fullback Kerim Posada launched a shot from beyond midfield – some 60 yards from the goal. Reno’s goalie got a hand on it, but couldn’t take enough speed off the line-drive shot, and South Tahoe led 2-0. Miguel Jiminez closed out the scoring in the 64th minute, taking a cross from Baker and volleying the shot into the net for the final margin.



“Evan Baker just had a great game,” Winters said of his senior co-captain. “He didn’t get a goal, but he had two assists, and he just worked that front line.”

South Tahoe has seven matches left in its season, including another scrimmage against Wooster on Oct. 23. The Vikings must face Fallon and Galena for the first time this season, and will try to stay ahead of the pack when they meet Douglas, Carson and Reno again, on Oct. 13, 15, and 20, respectively. The Vikings resume league play on Wednesday when Fallon visits for a 3:30 p.m. game.

South Tahoe’s junior varsity lost to the Huskies JV on Friday, 2-1.

Whittell girls boot visiting Dayton, 8-1

Whittell’s girls unleashed the offense and raised their record above .500 with an 8-1 win over visiting Dayton on Saturday.

“It was good to wake up the offense, because we’re going to need it against Manogue,” said Whittell head coach Mike Leeper, whose team improved to 6-5 overall (1-1 in Northern Nevada 3A league play) with the win.

Junior Maggie Jones led Whittell’s offense, finishing the game with a hat trick. Corky Novotny added two goals, and Jackie Laurian, Courtney Benvenuto and Caitlin Fagan scored one each. Whittell came out of the gate strong as Benvenuto’s 30-yard strike gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead, and Laurian doubled the lead before five minutes had passed.

The win set up a key game between Whittell and Bishop Manogue on Wednesday in Reno. The two teams are battling Incline for playoff position, and both need wins after Incline beat each team last week.

The Warriors travel to Manogue for a 3 p.m. match.

Reno-South Tahoe battle ends in sixth tie for Vikings

South Tahoe’s girls emerged from a nasty, physical battle with host Reno on Saturday with a 2-2 tie, the sixth of the season for the Vikings.

“I’m very proud of our team for maintaining composure in the hostile environment that Reno created,” said South Tahoe head coach Julia Peyser, whose Vikings (4-1-6 overall) trail third-place Reno by a point in the league standings.

Sophomore Reggie Braun put South Tahoe up 1-0 in the seventh minute with an unassisted goal. On a breakaway, Braun tipped the ball over the goalie, then ran around her to pick up the ball and score. After the Vikings left halftime with a 1-0 lead, Reno senior Pam Lujano tied the score in the 58th minute. Jessica Perasso, though, answered for South Tahoe, putting the Vikings up 2-1 with a strike from outside the 18-yard line. Reno came back to tie the game in the 39th minute, and the game ended in a draw.

Goalie Sarah Junge recorded 16 saves to preserve the tie for South Tahoe.

The Huskies proved inhospitable hosts indeed, as two more Vikings joined an already long injury list. Sophomore forward Jen Galea, one of South Tahoe’s best scoring threats along with Braun and Diana Higman, took a knee to the rib, and is day-to-day. Kelly Humphreys most likely will miss Tuesday’s game with Fallon game after sustaining a pelvic bruise.

They join injured Katy Orr and Diana Higman on the list. Neither Orr nor Higman played, but Katrina Clapp has returned to the Vikings lineup for the first time since early in the season.

South Tahoe’s girls have lost just once in 11 games this season. The Vikings resume play on Tuesday, when they play host to Fallon for a 3:30 p.m. match.

Whittell boys score three unanswered, beat Dayton

Whittell’s boys picked up a crucial win against an improved Dayton team on Saturday, scoring three straight goals in a 3-1 win.

Dayton took advantage of a mistake on Whittell’s back line, and went up 1-0 13 minutes in. The Warriors, though, reeled off three straight goals before halftime, and held on for the home win.

“Dayton’s improved,” said Whittell head coach Steve Maltase, whose Warriors improved to 7-5-1 overall (1-1 in Northern Nevada 3A Division II league play) with the win. “I played 18 guys, and I rested a couple of guys, and gave everybody playing time. The main thing is everybody got to play and we came out with a win.”

Nine minutes after Dayton’s goal, Whittell sophomore Oscar Cortez answered, tying the score 1-1. Chris Markt gave the Warriors their first lead in the 24th minute, and Todd Echan put the game away in the 31st minute.

The game set up a league matchup with Bishop Manogue on Wednesday. The Warriors travel to Reno for a 4:30 p.m. game with the Miners, who won their first two league games.

South Tahoe cross country travels to Stanford Invitational

South Tahoe took the top runners from its varsity rosters to Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday for an appearance at the huge Stanford Invitational.

South Tahoe’s boys finished 14th overall out of 28 teams, and the Viking girls were 19th out of 28.

Junior Manuel Lomeli was the top finisher for South Tahoe, finishing 34th in 17:03. South Tahoe’s Grant Carter was 78th in 17:50, Jeff Cosmi 80th in 17:54, Cory Martin 93rd in 18:04, Sean Pawling 105th in 18:12, Chris Cosmi 114th in 18:23, and Jeff Koeck 158th in 19:33. Eric Chaves of St. Francis, Nev., was the fastest runner in the field, finishing in 15:47.

Marin St. Michel led South Tahoe’s girls, finishing 57th overall in 21:11. Erica Zampardo (79th, 21:42), Caitlin Robinson (92nd, 22:12), Cecilia Cuevas (105th, 22:46), Katie Sheehan (123rd, 23:35), Norma Olivas (126th, 23:39), and Crystal Plotner (152nd, 24:42) followed. Plotner was substituting for Lisa Orr, who injured her ankle. Alejandra Barrientos, a junior at San Lorenzo Valley, was the fastest girl on the course, finishing the 3.1-mile course in 17:51.

South Tahoe’s varsity resumes its schedule on Friday, when they travel to the Carson Invitational, which begins at 3:30 p.m.


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