With two of their top players out and the score tied at zero with under 10 minutes left, the situation started looking disturbingly familiar to the Douglas Tigers boys' soccer squad.
However the Tigers found a new ending, shucking a four-game losing streak and a string of bad breaks in the closing minutes in close games, tying the Elko Indians 0-0 Wednesday afternoon at Douglas.
"It was good to get that monkey off our back," Douglas coach Phil Sheridan said. "We've been so close and then we came into this game hurt, but it turned out OK."
Douglas was without standouts Colten Mellows (hamstring) and Myles DeLaurentis (dislocated elbow) but Jared Price stepped up to anchor a strong defensive effort for the Tigers. Defender Kyle Currence was also out with a sprained ankle.
Marking fullbacks Justin Grimm and Justin Norvell and defender Jeff Spencer all contributed to keeping the Indians away from keeper Chris Aguilar for most of the game.
"Jared stepped in and played a great game and David Sturgess played a great game for us in the middle," Sheridan said.
Forward Martin Rubio came up with the Tigers' best scoring chance in the first half with a wide-open look with less than a minute remaining.
Rubio put a beautiful shot on net, but Elko's keeper made a fingertip save to slow the ball down just enough to get back on his feet and block Rubio's rebound as time ran out.
Norvell sent in a beautiful ball from midfield in the 60th minute but it trickled through a crowd of Douglas players before Elko knocked it out.
Price had the best look of the entire game, sending in a rocket from 30 yards away on a direct kick. It arced over the Elko keeper's fingers and bounced off the crossbar in the 66th minute.
"We had a chance to win there toward the end," Sheridan said. "We're going to come back strong Saturday. We go to North Valleys and we have to win that game."
Elko, currently in second place in the High Desert League, remained unbeaten on the year at 6-0-2 overall and Douglas ran its record to 4-5-1 overall.
