Truckee soccer | Boys claim top playoff seed | SierraSun.com
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Truckee soccer | Boys claim top playoff seed

Sylas Wright
swright@sierrasun.com
Truckee senior Thomas Arnstein scores on a penalty kick in 66th minute of the Wolverines' 2-0 win at Elko on Friday. Arnstein added another goal seven minutes later.
Anthony Mori / Elko Daily Free Press |

Northern Division I-A standings

Team League         Overall         Pts

xTruckee     14-1  18-3-2          42

xSparks        12-2-2          20-2-2          38

xSouth Tahoe         10-4-2          8-5-2 32

yFallon         9-6-1 11-7-3          28

Elko   8-7-1 10-11-2       25

ySpring Creek        7-7-2 10-10-2       23

Lowry           4-11  5-14  12

Fernley        2-11-2          2-13-2          8

Dayton          0-15  0-17  0

x — clinched playoff berth

y — pending appeal

The Truckee boys soccer team clinched the No. 1 seed in the Northern Division I-A regional tournament with a pair of road wins at Elko and Spring Creek on Friday and Saturday.

The Wolverines opened the road trip with a 2-0 win over Elko. They defeated Spring Creek 5-1 the next day.

Senior forward Thomas Arnstein made Truckee history in the process, as he scored two goals against Elko and three against Spring Creek to pass Scott Eberhardt as the Wolverines’ all-time single-season scoring leader, with 37 goals to Eberhardt’s 36. Arnstein has 70 goals in his varsity career. Max Brixey owns Truckee’s career record with 94 goals.



While Truckee came out with a strong effort against Elko, the game remained scoreless at the half.

About 13 minutes into the second half, however, Arnstein was tripped in the penalty box and converted the penalty kick for a 1-0 Truckee lead.



Eleven minutes later, Arnstein doubled the Wolverines’ lead with a goal assisted by senior Leo Villa.

Truckee coach Casey Eberhardt said the Wolverines were able to control possession throughout, especially after the first score.

The weather posed a challenge for both teams on Saturday, with a 20 mph east wind and bouts of heavy rain.

The Wolverines fell behind early when the Spartans converted a goal in the 13th minute off of a throw-in. Truckee rebounded with the equalizer just three minutes later, as Arnstein netted his first goal unassisted en route to his hat trick.

Arnstein scored again in the 26th minute when he settled a kick by Truckee goalie Gabriel Serna out of the air, beat a defender and buried the goal. Arnstein then gave Truckee a 3-1 lead entering the half on a free kick in the 33rd minute.

Senior Jake Lahr extended the lead to 4-1 with a goal assisted by Villa in the 43rd minute, and senior Nick Oberriter capped the scoring with a goal assisted by David Martinez in the 44th minute.

Truckee, which ended the regular season at last-place Dayton (0-15) on Tuesday, improved to 14-1 in league play and 18-3-2 overall to secure the top regional seed. Elko (8-7-1) lost 2-0 to South Tahoe (10-4-2) on Saturday, ending its playoff hopes. Spring Creek (7-7-2) also lost to South Tahoe on Friday, 3-2, and did not qualify for the postseason.

Regionals

The Wolverines will host the Northern Division I-A regional tournament at Truckee Riverview Sports Park this Friday and Saturday.

Truckee is slated to open with a semifinal match against fourth-seeded Fallon (9-6-1) on Field 1 Friday at 1 p.m. That matchup, however, is pending the outcome of an appealed game between Fallon and Spring Creek (7-7-2). The NIAA on Monday granted Spring Creek’s appeal from a 5-4 Fallon win on Oct. 18 — based on the Spartans incorrectly having to play the game a man down in the second half.

The Greenwave and Spartans will replay the game Tuesday afternoon at a neutral site in Winnemucca, with the winner advancing to regionals as the No. 4 seed.

On the other side of the bracket, second-seeded Sparks (12-2-2) plays third-seeded South Tahoe (10-4-2) on Field 2, also at 1 p.m.

The winners meet on Field 1 for the regional championship on Saturday at noon. The top two teams advance to the state championship Nov. 14-15 in Henderson, Nev.


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