The Spanish Springs girls soccer team needs all the points it can get in the High Desert League girls soccer race. On Saturday, it picked up one, battling to a 1-1 draw at home against HDL leader Reed.

“We need points. That’s for sure,” Spanish Springs coach Mike Faker said. “In the big picture, a tie is good, especially because I thought in the second half they outplayed us. Still, it’s tough being up for as long as we were and to not get the win.”

Spanish Springs took a 1-0 lead into the final 15 minutes of Saturday’s match, but Reed tied the league affair when Kayla Gomer put up the Raiders’ lone goal on a low shot under the hands of SSHS goalkeeper Erica Lorenz. Gomer’s sister teammate Kelsey gave away the assist in the 65th minute.

“Our kids don’t get down and don’t quit. This team has a lot of heart and a lot of character. And that’s good because the rest of the year, we’ll be in some tight games,” Reed coach Jason Saville said.

Reed (7-2-3 overall) is 7-1-2 in the HDL, leaving the east Sparks school with 23 points. Spanish Springs has a 6-4-1 record in league play, giving the Cougars 19 points. Reno , McQueen and Elko are all in the postseason mix as well. With just four playoff berths available, one of those schools will not advance to the regional tournament.

Carly Pengelly broke the scoreless tie and gave Spanish Springs 1-0 lead in the 37th minute after she scored on a penalty kick.

From a sheer shooting numbers standpoint, Spanish Springs was lucky to get away with the tie. The host Cougars were out-shot by the Raiders 15-3. Reed goalkeeper Carrington Grimes finished with just three saves, but her counterpart in the Spanish Springs goal, Lorenz needed 10 saves to keep the tie intact.

“I was impressed with Reed,” Faker said. “Even though they’ve been dominating the league, I thought we had a lineup that would make a difference. But definitely, in the middle third of the field, they did better than we did. They are dangerous.”

Saville was trying to keep the tie in perspective during postgame reflections. He knows his squad can still lock up its third straight HDL title with a win Tuesday at Reno .

“Anytime you outshoot a team 15-3, you’d like to get a win. But based on the situation we were in with that tough PK call, we’ll take the tie,” Saville said, alluding to his frustration with the Cougars’ single score. “Because for a while there, it didn’t look like it was going to be our day.”

In addition to playing at Reno Tuesday at 7 p.m., Reed also has North Valleys left on its schedule. The Raiders host the Panthers Saturday at 11 a.m. Spanish Springs concludes its regular season Saturday at McQueen.