MINDEN -- For 80 minutes, Douglas High's soccer team went toe-to-toe with defending zone champion South Tahoe.
And, after a shaky first half, the Tigers gave South Tahoe all it could handle before losing 1-0 in a Sierra League soccer match Wednesday afternoon.
The game's only score came with 34:10 left in the first half when Corey Vermillion kicked in his own missed shot past goalie Chase Zumpft.
The play started when Victor Mariscal launched a weak kick toward the goal, which never came close to reaching its mark. Vermillion fired a shot on goal which was blocked by Zumpft, who couldn't control it, and Vermillion got a second chance and made the most of it.
"I'm pleased with the way the kids played," Douglas coach Phil Sheridan said. "They could have let down after that goal, but they kept playing hard. We're just not as big and strong as they are. We got kind of beat up out there.
"Chase did a great job both halves. He definitely kept us in the game."
Indeed. ZumpftEfaced 13 first-half shots, and made many nice saves, as South Tahoe kept the pressure on the Tigers, who only had one real good look at the goal in the opening 40 minutes.
David Sturgess thought he had tied the score in the 17th minute, but Carlos Ramirez leaped high to deflect it over the crossbar. Ramirez faced 10 shots unofficially and finished with six saves.
"The first half they (Tahoe) played well and had possession (most of the time)," Sheridan said. "They had some good shots, and we were struggling. They are tough. This is a team that's been together for four years."
South Tahoe hadEa fewEmore real good looks in the second half, but came up empty each time. Alex Torres was wide left on a shot in the 19th minute, and Leon Abravanel went 1-on-1 with Zumpft and came up empty.EMariscal tried to head the ball in from about 10 yards away, but put it over the cross bar.
"We just couldn't finish," South Tahoe coach Joe Winters said. "We got too anxious and had no patience at the right time. After a while, they stopped wanting to shoot.
"Douglas did a good job of putting more men into the box. Their goalie played great. He made some great saves."
Winters lauded the defensive efforts of Tim Head and Joey Fereira.
Douglas' best opportunities in the second half came from Colton Mellows and Jared Harwell, but Ramirez held firm in goal. There was a scary moment with about 13 minutes left when Chris Honer floated a pass toward the goal. Ramirez came out to make the save and was accidentally kicked by a Douglas attacker.
Sheridan was especially pleased with Honer's play up front and the defensive efforts of Jeff Spencer, who marked Alex Torres most of the contest.
SOUTH TAHOE 5, DOUGLAS JVS 2
South Tahoe improved to 7-0-1 with its win over the Douglas junior varsity boys soccer team (2-2-1, 1-1 in league). Pat Hannah gave Douglas a 1-0 halftime lead when he scored on Michael Gransbery's assist.
Gransbery scored a goal set up by Seth Bartlett and Nick Cohee to tie the game 2-2. Goalies Steve Done and Chris Aguilar combined to make seven saves..
