4A GIRLS: Pahrump earns title with goal in second overtime
RENO — The Class 4A girls soccer state championship game was seemingly destined to be decided by penalty kicks when the Pahrump Valley attackers put their faith in each other.
Their trust was rewarded when Kristen Young scored off a cross from Sydney Sladek in the sixth minute of the second overtime period to lift the Trojans to a 2-1 win over Bishop Manogue on Saturday at Damonte Ranch High.
Sladek took a pass from midfield and sent it over a Manogue defender right to Young, who used her belly to knock the ball into the net.
“I knew Syd would get it right to me,” Young said. “I finished it with everything I had.”
Sladek said she didn’t even see Young coming when she booted the ball toward the goal.
“I sent it in hoping someone would be, and she was there,” Sladek said. “I knew I could count on her.”
Pahrump’s Sierra Tucsnak scored off a rebound in the 74th minute to tie the game at 1.
Gabby Rainoldi gave Manogue the lead with an unassisted goal earlier in the second half, beating a defender and driving home a left-footed shot.
Both teams squandered two point-blank scoring opportunities in overtime. Pahrump goalie Kiaya Nauck tipped a shot over the bar, and seconds later another Manogue shot hit the crossbar.
Sladek shot high on a breakaway, and the Trojans missed a chance when a header hit the crossbar off a corner kick.
“It felt horrible missing,” Sladek said. “I felt like we were not going to be able to have another chance, but we did and I’m happy we did.”
Pahrump coach Pamela Larmouth said the Trojans began to take control of the game when they put an extra player in the back to help them control the ball at midfield.
“The last 20 minutes of regular play and overtime, that was our game,” Larmouth said. “The other part, I don’t know what we were doing. Once we started playing like that, my worries were over.”