Wave soccer defense improves after season-opening loss

Three days after suffering a lopsided loss to open the season, the Greenwave boys soccer team came back improved on defense in its home opener on Friday.

After an 8-0 loss to North Valleys on Tuesday, Fallon dropped a 3-0 decision to Incline on Friday.

First-year coach David Lopez expected the first match of the season to be tough but he said the team’s composure suffered midway through the first half.

“North Valleys picked up the pace and we couldn’t seem to find that spark, which hurt us,” he said. “We had a few breakaways but didn’t capitalize on them. The first game of the season against a strong opponent actually helped us because we can really see deep into what we need to target as a team and work on. It also helps our coaching staff with seeing weaknesses and strengths within our team so that we can make adjustments for future matches.”

Although their second game of the year ended in a loss, Lopez was pleased with the team’s effort. Fallon was more aggressive on defense and spent most of the second half in Incline territory.

After communication and effort issues in the first half, the Greenwave turned a corner after halftime.

“We regrouped at the half and made some adjustments, which really helped us changed the pace of the game,” Lopez said. “We spend about 90 percent of the time on their half of the field in the second half and had plenty of shots on goal, but our shots just didn’t fall into the net.”

With one week down, Lopez said his players need to continue understanding their roles and working together as a team. And the results will be immediate.

“We are happy with our performance,” Lopez added. “We are extremely happy to have our families and community support us and look forward to having them come out again. The smiles on our players faces that I see as a coach when the crowd gets bigger and bigger is priceless.”

Fallon traveled to Sparks on Tuesday and hosts Truckee on Friday.

The Lady Wave in its first league game of the season, beat Incline, 3-2, at the lake on Friday. Fallon hosted Sparks on Tuesday and travels to Truckee on Friday.