Sure, Reed might have won the last two Northern 4A state championships in girls soccer, but don't expect the Raiders to think the third is in the bag.

Reed coach Jason Saville does not allow his players to wear anything to remind them of last year.

"It's a process of one game at a time. If we talk about the past, we might think that is something that is going to happen every year. We know it's something that's not going to happen every year," Saville said. "These girls are working hard for this year, and they're putting the past behind them. They're proud of the accomplishments and history of the program, but everybody starts off 0-0. If they think people are going to hand them another state title, that's just not going to happen.

"They got good experience with that last year because teams like Spanish Springs, South Tahoe and Elko, the good teams, they don't care (about our past accomplishments). If we're not careful and don't prepare, there won't be another state championship."

It's still unknown whether or not Reed will be challenging a southern Nevada foe for a North vs. South state championship. The injunction scheduled for Friday did not take place, but a settlement between the NIAA and the parent trying to keep girls soccer a winter sport in southern Nevada could come as soon as early next week.

The Blue and Gold won't have to worry about competing with perennial rival Galena for High Desert League supremacy after the Grizzlies made the move to the Sierra League. Saville will miss the rivalry a little.

"I'm going to miss seeing Libby Walker on the field (even though she graduated) and Ron Jones is great coach and a great person," he said. "But Reno is going to step up and fill the void with Galena going over to the other league."

Saville said the strong points of the team are a work ethic and attitude the team has never had before.

"All 15 girls have bought into our philosophy. They play as a cohesive unit, not as one or two or three players who have their own agenda. They want to play hard for each other," he said.

Eleven of those girls are returning from last year's squad that won the state championship on the last shot of a shootout.

The High Desert League's Midfielder of the Year, Kayla Gomer, took that game-winning shot. Her younger sister, Kelsey, is also back after receiving second team all-league recognition at forward. The Gomer sisters were a huge part of the Raiders' offense last fall.

"Obviously when you have the Gomer sisters, you like your chances on the attack," Saville said. "Goals aren't going to be easy. Teams are going play us hard, and we're just going to have to keep trying to get better everyday."

All-leaguers Savannah Gobelman and Emily Good are also back.

Reed will go with a newcomer in goal. Saville is excited about having junior Carrington Grimes for a couple years.

But it all comes down to the defense in front of her, which has been incredibly strong the past two years.

"Give a lot of credit to Steve Asher who works with the defense and is charge of the defense," Saville said. "We let in seven goals two years ago and eight goals last year. If they (opponents) can't score, they can't win. It's a credit to him and the defenders in the back. Two goals was the most we gave up in a game."

Like Spanish Springs, Reed will get its first test next week in the annual Galena preseason tournament. The Raiders will play at 3 and 7 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Saville hopes they will play more than the three guaranteed games but mainly just uses the preseason tourney to get as many games as they can to work on things for when the regular season starts Sept. 2 at home against Manogue.