Girls' Soccer: State tournament to become a reality after all

It's been the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's intent for quite some time to unify the Northern and Southern 4A regions for a girls' soccer state tournament in the fall.

And for the first time in the history of the sport in the state, that is actually going to happen. Sort of.

The NIAA Board of Control has voted three times in the past to move all girls' soccer in the state to the fall season, but ran into legal obstacles the last time around.

The 3A and Northern 4A have always played in the fall while the Southern 4A (a.k.a., the Clark County School District) has traditionally played in the winter.

The unification was originally supposed to go into effect prior to the 2008 season, but a Green Valley High School parent filed suit prior to the season saying that moving the Southern 4A season would be a Title IX violation.

When all parties settled, the Clark County School District kept its season in the winter and the NIAA sanctioned it.

But that left for a couple loose ends.

Traditional 3A powerhouses Faith Lutheran and Pahrump Valley made the jump up to the Southern 4A in all sports over the summer.

Coming from the 3A, both schools played girls' soccer in the fall. Since neither school is a part of the Clark County School District, they didn't have a league to play in this season.

So while the Northern 4A begins its regional playoffs next week at Damonte Ranch, Pahrump Valley and Faith Lutheran, who have both been going up against 3A schools for most of the year, will face off in a one-game playoff for a berth into the state tournament.

On Nov. 13, the top three Northern 4A teams, along with the Southern 4A winner, will commence the first-ever "statewide" 4A state championship.

"It was just one of those things," NIAA assistant director Jay Beesemeyer said. "We couldn't punish Faith Lutheran and Pahrump for not being a part of Clark County. They made the jump up and they wanted to play in the fall. We couldn't exclude them."

The shift is causing some waves among coaches in the Northern 4A, several of whom hadn't been informed of the NIAA's intent until only a week or two ago when the brackets were first released.

"We went over the whole thing at the board of control meetings last May and June, but our minutes didn't reflect it very well except to say that Faith Lutheran and Pahrump would be allowed to participate in the fall," Beesemeyer said. "We didn't send a memo out to the coaches, which is something we probably should have done, and it was supposed to be communicated at the preseason coaches meeting and apparently it wasn't.

"That's my responsibility and I am sorry I didn't do a better job of communicating this to the coaches."

Still, the new format is a step toward what the NIAA has been trying to establish for quite some time and it also will provide some benefits for the Northern teams.

"It came as a bit of a surprise to us," Douglas coach Lorraine Fitzhugh said. "But we have to look forward to the eventual legitimacy of a full statewide tournament when the whole Southern 4A eventually has soccer in the fall. This is just a transition to get there.

"It's best to support it. This is something they are doing for the right reason and some teams will get a couple extra games out of it this year."

The Northern 4A tournament will be played the same as it has the last few years, with the addition of a third-place game to determine the third Northern berth for state. It's something that could be viewed as a positive for a team that suffers an untimely loss at regionals.

"We've got some upset coaches, understandably, but it'll be a few more games for the girls which is a positive thing," Beesemeyer said. "Some of the downside we've been hearing is that with the extra week, that will have an effect on some club soccer tryouts. There may be some backlash there.

"Ultimately, we are trying to get a true state soccer tournament and this is a step toward that."

Fitzhugh agreed.

"It's going to be weird this year in that it will largely resemble the Northern 4A semifinals, but they are trying to include the Southern Nevada schools and get this thing pointed the right way, and that's the important part."