Fallon's Corbin Waite fires a kick past Elko's Jovany Mesa Friday.
Fallon’s run to the postseason was met with turbulence last weekend in Elko and Spring Creek.
The Greenwave boys soccer team was stung with a controversial handball call late in the match against Elko but received the benefit of many calls against Spring Creek.
Fallon lost 2-1 to Elko, while the Wave picked up a 5-4 victory over the Spartans. On Monday, the Wave fell 3-0 at Sparks and hosted North Tahoe in a nonleague match on Tuesday, but results were not available.
Spring Creek and Fallon, though, played a physical, demanding match, although it was overshadowed by off-the-ball antics and questionable foul calls.
“Something has to be said about how many free kicks the other team got in scoring positions,” Spring Creek coach Leaf Knotts told the Elko Daily Free Press. “It’s sad when it goes one way and not the other. It’s tough to swallow.”
Two Spring Creek players were ejected including Wyatt Church, who scored the Spartans’ first goal.
Knotts told the Free Press that during halftime, Church went to apologize to one of Fallon’s coaches for words exchanged between the two in the first half. When Church got to the coach, another Fallon coach intervened and the referees took action and gave Church a red card.
“A red card should not be given for that,” Knotts told the Free Press. “Maybe a yellow card, but not a red card.”
The Spartans also lost another player to a red card before the end of the game when Logan Billin was walking off the field with a teammate, and the referee heard a comment Billin made and sent him off. Church and Billin will miss the Spartans’ match against Elko on Saturday due to receiving red cards.
Against Elko, however, the crucial handball call came as a shock. It occurred late in the match with the score tied at 1. The Indians converted the penalty kick to seal the win.
The calls, and the results of those matches, are critical in the postseason chase. As of Tuesday, the Wave (7-5-1) were tied with Elko (7-4-1) and South Tahoe (7-4-1) as each school has 22 points, while Spring Creek (5-5-2) is sixth with 17.
The Wave closes the season with games against Dayton (0-12) and Fernley (2-9-2).
Truckee (11-0, 33) has clinched a playoff berth and Sparks (9-2-1, 28) is nearing another playoff appearance.
Lady Wave ends home slate with loss
The Fallon girls soccer team limped off the field Saturday on Senior Day with a 2-0 loss to Spring Creek.
The Lady Wave, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, engaged in a scoreless tie with Elko on Friday.
A lack of energy and urgency plagued Fallon as it dropped to 4-8-1 in the Northern Division I-A.