Tribune photo by John Byrne - Reed and Hug players scramble for possession on a high bouncing loose ball during second-half action of Hug’s 6-2 High Desert League boys soccer home win Saturday afternoon.
“The boys are working hard and fortunately, we’ve had minimal injuries,” Sparks coach Frank Avilla said. “We’re focused and Spring Creek is not a bad team.”
Spring Creek didn’t look very good against Sparks Saturday. The 3A foes were locked in a 1-1 tie after nine minutes of action, but it was all Sparks from there as the Railroaders posted eight straight goals the rest of the way.
“They’re quick and they have been consistently quick in the three years I’ve coached here,” Spring creek coach Ray Smtih said of the Railroaders. “They just have great team speed and they move the ball well together. ... They make things happen and you have to be ready to match their speed. They’ll be all over you.”
Sparks broke a 1-1 tie when Eric Ojeda took an assist from Abey Quintino and scored in the 21st minute for a 2-1 SHS edge. Two minutes later, Railroaders freshman Cesar Garcia got into the scoring act thanks to an Oscar Carvajal assist.
The score stayed 3-1 into the halftime break. That margin was short-lived. Sparks put up three goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Danny Ornelas scored for Sparks on a penalty kick at the 42-minute mark. Garcia added goals in the 47th and 49th minutes, pushing the Railroaders’ lead to 6-1.
The Sparks offense was far from finished. Carvajal tallied his second assist when Eduardo Cervantes found the net in the 61st minute.
The Railroaders’ final two goals came in the 72nd and 74th minutes by Quintino and Johnny Garcia respectively.
“We’ve been working on our speed and agility with ball drills. We don’t have a lot of size, so we have to use our speed and we are blessed with that,” Avilla said.
Sparks opened the scoring on a Quintino goal less than two minutes after the opening kick. Springs Creek’s only goal came in the ninth minute by Trevor Preece.
Sparks, which is 1-1 in 3A North Tahoe League play, returns to league action Tuesday when it goes up to the Lake to face Whittell at 5 p.m.
Reed
At Hug, the host Hawks scored five unanswered goals in the first half and cruised to a 6-2 triumph over Reed in boys prep soccer action Saturday.
Leading 5-0 at halftime, Hug tacked on another goal early in the second half, extending its edge to 6-0.
Reed finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes of play. Aaron Iffrig scored for Reed in the 70th minute to nix the Hawks’ hopes for a shutout. Jesse Mendoza accounted for Reed’s second goal, finding the net in the 78th minute.
The visiting Raiders were short-handed once again, playing without four starters due to injuries. In addition, head coach Rich Hollis missed the game due to a suspension.
For most of Saturday’s match, the RHS squad had no reserves, just its 11 players on the field.
“Playing without three defensive starters really hurt us. Our inexperience showed back there,” Reed assistant coach Jeff Valentine said. “Three of those kids should be back next week. When we get everybody back healthy and happy, I think we should be fine.”
Reed (1-3-1, 1-2 HDL) is in action again Wednesday when it hosts cross-town rival Spanish Springs at 7 p.m.
Spanish Springs
At Elko, Spanish Springs gave up two quick goals and never recovered en route to a 3-0 High Desert League road loss Saturday afternoon.
Elko scored in the first and sixth minutes and then added a third goal at the 78-minute mark.
Despite the shutout loss, Spanish Springs coach Rob Moreland said his team’s offense was fine, players just needed to finish opportunities.
“We’ve got to work on that,” he said. “We didn’t hit the target. We had chances. It was 2-0 and we had two good chances to tie it up. Then, they came back and got the third one ... Those first two goals, we didn’t mark up. That’s frustrating.”
Spanish Springs (3-3, 2-2 HDL) goes to Reed Wednesday for a conference clash that’s scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
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