The Nevada Wonders had a depleted roster in last weekend's 4-0 loss to the California Gold. They'll be dealing with a similar scenario when they play two road games in Utah this weekend, starting with tonight's 8 p.m. game against the BYU Cougars at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah.
Nevada, which is 0-2 and has been outscored 8-1 in the two losses, only had three bench players against the Gold. With high school functions this weekend, it will have about that many this weekend. The only difference being the Wonders are playing not one, but two games and both are against quality opponents.
Carson High's Kirkwood Harris won't make the trip because of the prom and Sean Nealis, the team's most experienced player, is still in New York for a friend's wedding.
"I think this weekend will be a real challenge for us," said assistant coach Jim Nealis, who also won't be with the team because he's attending a friend's wedding. "After this weekend, though, he (Sean) should be here for the rest of the season and that's going to help a lot. Just his guidance for the younger guys will help tremendously."
Tonight's game will be the first for the Cougars, who are essentially the BYU club soccer team. But just because they aren't a Division I program, it doesn't mean they don't have talented players. The team was featured in a New York Times article last week and has won six of the past 10 national club collegiate championships.
"They're basically a Division I college team," Jim Nealis said. "They had an article about them in the New York Times. That right there gives them something of merit they can stand on."
Nevada will play the Utah Blitzz on Saturday at the Wendover Soccer Complex in Wendover, Nev. The game will be the Wonders' toughest yet as the Blitzz are 2-1-1 this season after a convincing 3-1 win last Saturday against the San Diego Gauchos. Utah won the Pro Select League, formerly known as the D-3 League, championship in 2001 and has a roster filled with experienced and talented veterans. It opened the season with a 1-0 loss against the California Gold, the same team that beat the Wonders 4-0 last Saturday.
"I know they're really good," Jim Nealis said of the Blitzz, who are the two-time defending Western Conference champions. "They got players who are getting paid to play and we got players who are trying to make something of themselves."
Utah will be the second straight Pro Select League opponent for Nevada. The Wonders also must play San Diego. Despite the rough start, Nevada is in the process of adding reinforcements.
"We're negotiating with a couple of players right now," Jim Nealis said. "They've expressed some interest. But until they show up, we won't know how serious they are about us and we won't know how serious we are about them. But we're looking to add a couple of pieces in the next few weeks."
Nevada plays its first ever home game May 10 against the Orange County Blue Star at the Carson High soccer field.
