TAHOE CITY, Calif. — The North Tahoe boys soccer team did not make things easy on visiting Placer on Friday. But the large school from Auburn capitalized on its physical size and strength advantage to earn a 2-0 nonleague win.

“I thought we played really well,” said North Tahoe coach Beto Alcaraz. “We were passing well and doing some good things, but I think we got tired in the second half. Placer is a good team, but we were right there. We played with a lot of intensity.”

After 30 minutes of evenly played soccer, the Hillmen’s Andres Prieto got behind the North Tahoe defense and blasted a shot from 20 yards past the reach of North Tahoe senior goalie Omar Vargas.

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Only seconds prior, North Tahoe sophomore Omar Cerda sent a rocket shot that sailed just inches over the crossbar of the goal.

The Hillmen added some insurance early in the second half. Ten minutes in, Placer’s Shawn Green headed in a goal off of a nicely placed corner kick by Prieto, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead.

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The teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the second half, with Placer nearly adding to its lead on several occasions, only to be denied by the quick reflexes of Vargas.

“He had an excellent game,” Alcaraz said of Vargas. “The score could have been more.”

North Tahoe fell to 1-2 on the season. Placer improved to 3-0.