By Steve Silver (contact)

Wed, Jan 7, 2009 (midnight)

Thanks to a truly "white winter" and a lengthy vacation from school, Tuesday's showdown between Durango and Spring Valley wasn't only each school's first girls' soccer game in nearly a month, but it was also the first practice for some of the players.

The Trailblazers had not faced an opponent since Dec. 15 and the Grizzlies last saw live competition on Dec. 11.

That layaway rust shined brightly as the rivals played to a scoreless tie at Spring Valley High School.

"I don't know what is going on with the scheduling, but it's difficult," said Durango coach Barry Forget. "Training is difficult when you have that much time in between. We did a lot of running over the break, but this is the first time since Christmas break that we have touched the ball. With the temperatures so cold, we don't get much practice time. I think the girls did amazingly well today considering."

The main contention with the problematic scheduling is that in order to accommodate the 32 Southern Nevada 4A schools, the season must start prior to winter break and league play has to begin immediately following that vacation in order to avoid conflicts with spring sports in March.

In addition to the tight scheduling, the brutally cold temperatures forced Forget and many other coaches to cancel practices in December.

"We started up, then it snowed, then we were on vacation, and now, here we are," said Spring Valley coach Bill Hamilton. "It was a slow start today, but hopefully our seniors and returning varsity players can step it up and try to get things going on a positive note."

Tuesday's outcome left both squads winless as Durango fell to 0-3-1 and Spring Valley dropped to 0-1-2.

The Grizzlies controlled the ball for most of the contest and generated several scoring opportunities.

But credit the Trailblazers for their stingy defense after losing starting freshman goalie Sky Allen early in the first half due to an ankle injury.

Fellow freshman Erna Husic filled in admirably for Allen at the goalkeeper position.

"They got a little crazy mentally trying to adjust after (Allen) went down, but we eventually found ourselves and settled down," Forget said.

Despite the scoreless outcome, both teams remained upbeat about the upcoming season as the coaches stressed the importance of gaining playing experience through real matches.

Durango next faces Desert Oasis on Thursday and Spring Valley travels to Sierra Vista on the same day.

"Game experience definitely helps and we just haven't had that yet," Hamilton said. "Any opportunity they get to be in the moment, that's what they need … Once you are in a game, those nerves start flowing and you see girls react differently."

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or steve.silver@lasvegassun.com.