Bulldog Rainee Brito attempts a pass in the box during the Dawgs 1-0 defeat of the Trojans Tuesday night.
Photo by Lou Martin

The Virgin Valley High School girls’ soccer team got a good start for the 2018 season Tuesday afternoon with a win over Pahrump Valley, 1-0, at the Mesquite Sports and Events Center.

Despite early season mistakes, the Trojans and Bulldogs played a hard fought soccer match, entertaining a good opening day crowd. Last year’s Nevada state runner ups, Pahrump, came out strong early in the match controlling the first few minutes of the match before the Dawgs defense stepped up and reversed the field.

The Bulldogs had three straight corner kicks at the six minute mark but could not reach goal. Keepers for both squads performed well in the first half as the period ended 0-0.

The Bulldog team struck early in the second period, scoring goal at the 47 minute mark to take a 1-0 lead. Ally Wright got the goal on a pass from Raeanna Slack. It was defense the rest of the way as the time of possession slightly favored the Dawgs.

The Bulldogs held off the favored Trojans gaining the victory. Keeper Erin Ofori earned the shutout with 8 saves.

“We missed opportunities but overall we did a good job,” said Bulldog coach Scott Trimming. “We need to work on fundamentals but the kids had an excellent game.”

The Lady Dawg JV squad also won by a score of 1-0.

The Bulldogs host their annual Mesquite Cup Tournament beginning Friday, Aug. 31. The Dawgs open the tourney against Chino Valley (Arizona) at 8 a.m. Other matches continue throughout the day. Also competing are Clark, Moapa Valley, Northland Prep (Arizona), Legacy and Sunrise Mountain High Schools. The finals will be at 1 p.m. Saturday.