Gustavo Villalovos (19) knocks in Douglas' only goal of the afternoon in a 1-1 draw against South Tahoe Thursday.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
A 1-1 tie with South Tahoe Thursday afternoon keeps Douglas High boys soccer right in the thick of their playoff race.
The draw leaves Douglas with a 3-2-4 record in league play (13 points) while the Vikings of South Tahoe remain in fourth (2-2-5) with 11 points.
The top three teams in Northern Class 3A West will make it to the regional tournament in Lowry, along with three teams from Northern 3A East.
“We are trying to stay with our personal goals,” said Douglas head coach Ricky Diaz. “I think we still have a chance of finishing up in second place. The next two games are going to be pretty important.”
Douglas tied South Tahoe, 0-0, in their first meeting this season.
The Tigers only have those two games – both in league – remaining on their schedule at Bishop Manogue (0-6-2 in league) and at home against Truckee (4-2-2).
Truckee is in second with 14 points, putting quite the emphasis on Douglas’ final home game Thursday, October 28 at 3:45 p.m.
After the draw Thursday with South Tahoe, the Tigers still remain unbeaten at home with a 3-0-3 record.
Tigers tally first goal
Douglas struck first in the 27th minute against the Vikings.
On a free kick from the far sideline, Alexander Diaz found Gustavo Villalovos inside the six-yard box.
Villalovos beat his defender and put his leg out, knocking in Douglas’ only goal the afternoon.
The Tigers had a number of set piece chances against South Tahoe Thursday, but were either turned away or just over the top of the net.
In the 41st minute, Douglas keeper Joseph Thurston nearly scored on a boot that traveled the length of the field, but a diving Viking keeper kept the Tiger goalie off the board.
Thurston gave Douglas another long clear in the 56th minute that nearly led to a goal, also.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, the Tiger defense had some miscommunication allowing a Viking attacker to slip into the box uncovered before tying the game up, 1-1.
Though Douglas had most of the chances in the first half, the Tiger head coach was hoping for a little more.
“Today, we stopped doing what we are good at,” said Diaz. “We wanted to win it, … It was a little lack of focus, which doesn’t happen much.”
UP NEXT: Douglas heads up to Reno to take on Bishop Manogue Saturday. The Tigers tied the Miners in their first meeting this season, 1-1.
