MINDEN - Before their game on Tuesday against Douglas, the Reno boys soccer team had to make a stop in Carson City to drop off the Hug boys soccer team for its game against the Carson Senators. Then once the Huskies finally arrived at Douglas High, they had only 10 minutes to warm up for the game.
So while it may have taken the Huskies nearly 60 minutes to get going, they finally did as Reno beat Douglas 2-0 to remain in second place behind South Tahoe in the Sierra League standings with a 10-1-2 record.
"The bus ride killed us," Husky coach Rob Moreland said. "But we came out of our shell a little bit in the second half and we're much more ready to play."
After applying nearly 10 minutes of constant pressure on the Tiger defense, Husky mid-fielder John Clancy-Tone's goal in the 71st minute put his team up 1-0. His shot from 22-yards out barely lifted over Douglas goalie Nate Gardner's head.
"I'm glad he didn't try and crush it," Moreland said. "He placed it nicely and that's what we've been working on, being composed around the goal."
Then with just seconds remaining in injury time, Reno forward Emerson Nolasco scored an insurance goal to finish the scoring at 2-0.
"In the first half, we were doing all the wrong things like dribbling too much and other things you do when you're tired. But we played much better in the second half."
With the loss, Douglas drops to 7-3-3 and is just one point ahead of Carson in the Sierra League standings. After beating Hug 4-2 on Wednesday, the Senators are now 7-4-2.
The Tigers next game is Saturday at home against South Tahoe, which beat Wooster 4-0 on Tuesday to stay on top of the league with an 11-1-1 record. Reno plays Hug on Saturday before taking on the Vikings next Monday, which should determine the top two seeds from the Sierra League in next month's 4A playoffs.
"We came out flat today and picked it up and that was the important thing," Moreland said.
"Playing consistent is what we've been working on. Consistency, that's what we're going to need to get through the zone playoffs."