The Douglas boys' soccer team breathed new life into its season with a 2-0 win over Manogue Wednesday afternoon in Reno.
It was the Tigers' first win of the year, but Damonte Ranch's loss Tuesday dropped the Mustangs to 2-4, leaving Douglas (1-5) just a game out of the fourth spot in the playoffs picture.
"You could see afterward that they felt like a monkey was off their backs a little bit," Douglas coach Milko Vasquez said. "The kids have been working hard and trying hard and it was good to see them get a win under their belts.
"It's a topsy-turvy year. It looks like the High Desert League is stronger on the whole this year, so we are not out of it by any means. We just need to keep working and hopefully pick up a couple points against some of the tougher teams on our side."
Vasquez retooled his entire lineup after last Friday loss to McQueen and got nearly instant results.
It was Edgar Hernandez, who'd been called up from junior varsity earlier in the week, who fed an assist to Daniel Calderon for the first goal of the game with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
"The first part of the game was a bit of a struggle getting adjusted, but after that I felt we really dominated," Vasquez said.
Luis Sillas and Jake Passas moved up top, where Vasquez said they were able to create more chances than what the team had been seeing.
Justin Draper also moved to the outside, where his speed helped the Tiger offense open things up.
"We really controlled the ball and the tempo of the game," Vasquez said. "Our defense looked good too and didn't allow any serious shots."
Goalie Francisco Sanchez posted his first career shutout and Scott Chandler, who moved to sweeper this week, was a defensive force, as was Eric Kleiner.
Douglas got its second goal in the second half when pressure forced the Manogue keeper to force a ball up the middle.
Troy Cohee collected it 35 yards away from the net and blasted it into the open net for the goal.
"I think that was the backbreaker for them," Vasquez said. "We were able to utilize all of our players, which is a good thing in terms of gaining experience."
Douglas faces league-leading Galena Friday at 3:30 p.m.
