SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - Since going undefeated in the first five weeks of the season, the Douglas High boys soccer team lost its second game of the week on Wednesday after Sierra League front-runner South Tahoe beat the Tigers 1-0 at South Tahoe Middle School.
On Monday, Douglas lost 1-0 to Reno in a make-up game that Tiger coach Phil Sheridan said should've have never been scheduled just two days before having to play the Vikings.
"It was a tough week for us," Sheridan said. "We should've been able to play Reno on our terms. Instead, we only got a one-day rest between playing the two top teams."
Douglas now drops to third place in the league with a 6-2-3 record while the Vikings (9-1-1) continue to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
"We were very up for the game and I was just happy with our effort," South Tahoe coach Joe Winters said. "We've been just training so hard and the guys were hungry."
South Tahoe's Kerim Posadas put the Vikings up 1-0 just five minutes into the game when his 20-yard blast somehow went right through Douglas goalie Nate Gardner's hands.
"It happens," Sheridan said of Gardner's mishap, who also bobbled a South Tahoe shot in the second half.
But Sheridan was quick to point out that the cold and windy weather had nothing to do with his team's performance.
"That's no excuse" Sheridan said. "It's cold down in Gardnerville too. They just outplayed us."
Then less than five minutes into the second half, Carlos Davila made it 2-0 with an amazing 35-yard blast that struck the bottom of the crossbar and bounced into the back of the net. Then in the 75th minute, South Tahoe center mid-fielder Dave Brown flicked a clever ball to Davila in the penalty box, who then took a quick touch and scored his second goal of the game to finish the scoring at 3-0.
"I'm disappointed because I don't think that team (South Tahoe) is three goals better than us," Sheridan said. "But we'll see these guys again on our field in a couple of weeks."
Winter's response to Sheridan's claim:
"We may not be three goals better than them but we were today," he said. "We were definitely the better team. Were we three goals better? To me, it could've been six."
The win gave South Tahoe, who play Hug in Reno on Saturday, their seventh shutout victory of the season. But Winters is already looking forward to the rematch in Minden on Oct. 21.
"I'm sure it'll be a tough game when we play them at Douglas," Winters said. "I'm sure they'll be up for it."
Douglas plays Wooster on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Reno.