Green Valley boys soccer continues streak

By Jared Harmon

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | midnight

With 17 goals this season, third most in Southern Nevada, the Green Valley High boys soccer team is off to an undefeated start as of Sept. 23.

The Gators went 7-0-1 in their final eight games last season to propel themselves into the playoffs. Despite losing a majority of their defense to graduation, Green Valley coach Roy Sneider said the Gators have started strong and continue to improve.

"I think the main difference between this year and last year is that we're finishing a lot better," Sneider said. "We lost a lot of 1-0 and 2-0 games last year because we couldn't find the net. This year we're being more selective and we're making sure we finish."

Junior midfielder Tim Shue leads the team with five goals after a nine-goal season last year. Shue said the team is better position this year because of leadership and a positive attitude.

"Our team strength is definitely heart," Shue said. "You have to want to win. You have to be willing to put in the work and all of us are willing. We had a lot more seniors last year but we're playing better as a team this year."

Sneider said he's been pleased with the work of the defense.

"We have a lot of quickness and skill up front — we have a lot of guys who can score," Sneider said. "So, really, we're going to go the way of our defense. So far they've played very well. We've got some talent back there and we hope they can keep it going."

Leading the way for the Gators have been defenders Bryan Artmann, a senior, and Alejandro Pacheco, a sophomore.

In a scoreless tie with the Southeast Career and Technical Academy on Sept. 17, Sneider said Artmann and Pacheco did a good job of organizing the defense and keeping the Gators in the game.

"We're a young team and in the preseason we didn't start off very well," Artmann said. "Since then we've become more of a team and we really came together once league play started. I think we'll keep improving as we improve our communication ."

Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or [email protected].