Sladek nets two goals to lift Trojans past Gorman

Pahrump Valley’s Sydney Sladek has been waiting a long time for the opportunity to play at Bishop Gorman.

With many area schools uninterested in taking on last year’s state champions, Sladek was determined to make Friday’s match count.

It didn’t take her long. 

Thanks in part to two Sladek goals, the Trojans topped the Gaels 3-1 and extended their winning streak to 28 consecutive matches.

“This game has been planned for a month,” the junior midfielder said. “All our school has talked about is us not being able to beat Gorman because they’re Gorman. It’s nice coming out here and playing our best.”

Pahrump coach Pamela Larmouth said she wrote nearly every school in the Las Vegas area for an opportunity to play and was grateful that the Gaels accepted the challenge.

“We hear so much flak in Pahrump that 'The state championship is fine, but you didn’t play any Vegas teams,’” Larmouth said. “This is like our second little state championship.”

The Trojans (14-0) seized their chance eight minutes into the match when Sladek connected with Kristen Young, who drilled a perfectly placed ball past Gorman goalkeeper Jessica Anaya.

“On the first goal me and Sydney were working as best as we could together,” Young said. “Syd touched it through, and from there it was just instinct.”

The duo connected again five minutes later. With a successful setup from Young on a give-and-go pass, Sladek sliced the ball beyond the reach of Anaya to pad the halftime lead to 2-0.

“The girls played the way they did when we won state last year,” Larmouth said of her team, which has outscored opponents 110-4 this season. “They were flawless and beautiful in the first half. We don’t normally have stiff competition and we really struggle staying on top of our game.”

Gorman (5-2) trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the opening minute of the first half when Katie Turner converted on a penalty kick after being tripped in the box.

Sladek cemented the victory just past the midway point of the second half, lacing the ball into the back of the net following a cross pass from freshman Gabrielle Vasquez.

“It was nice to get that third (goal) so that we knew we could relax a little, and just know that if they score again we’d be alright,” said Sladek, who has 57 goals this season.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s record book lists the single-season mark as 65 goals, set in 1999 by Truckee’s Becca Shook. Sladek has four regular-season matches and the postseason to try to surpass the mark.

“I don’t really think about it that much,” Sladek said. “All those goals don’t only come from me, they come from my team.”