Ladycats’ soccer coach explains bright side to red card

White Pine High School girls soccer coach Jose Martinez received a red card on Saturday, Sept. 5 in a 3-0 home loss to Dayton. Martinez got a yellow card for asking why one of his players was given a yellow card, and then a player wearing an earring on the field resulted in a second yellow at halftime, forcing Martinez off the sideline. But that wasn’t even the worst of it for White Pine, who lost its leading scorer to injury as well.

“Laila Trujillo, who has been one of our key players this year, got hurt on a play where there was no call or card against the opponent. I reacted a little aggressively because of how it happened, which definitely didn’t make the situation any better,” Martinez said. “Laila is now possibly out for the season. We’re hoping she might be able to return for State, but we don’t know yet.”

Dayton earned the league’s second seed with the 3-0 victory. The Dust Devils peppered Juliane Hughes in goal, putting 13 of 19 shots on frame. The Ladycats managed just two shots on goal and had no corner kicks. 

White Pine’s Reese Maestes, Trujillo and freshman Tyalinn Nicholson all received yellow cards in the loss, as Dayton defenders frustrated the Ladycats with 74 steals. White Pine had just 26 takeaways. Being ejected didn’t stop Martinez from coaching, though. In this case, the red card might’ve actually paid dividends.

“I was able to watch the game from above the press box. From up there, I could see that we can do a lot more with the field,” Martinez explained. “I think controlling and holding the field a little more would give us a lot more support and help us control the game better.”

WPHS did just that against Pershing County, despite Martinez being suspended for the games after the red card. The Ladycats shut out the Mustangs 3-0 on Friday, Sept. 11, and 2-0 on Saturday, Sept. 12. On Friday, White Pine got goals from junior Jillian Bath, sophomore Reese Maestes and freshman Kristyn Stark, with Maestes and Juliane Hughes assisting. The Ladycats allowed just two shots on frame Friday and three on Saturday. Senior Olivia Moskoff got both goals for WPHS on Saturday, with Bath and Maestes assisting.

“I think we had around 200 passes and probably controlled possession about 80% of the game. That’s something I really want us to focus on moving forward—controlling the game, using the whole field, and making our opponents chase us,” Martinez said. “Hopefully, that helps tire them out quicker and lets us control the pace of the game.”

Coach Steffen Moskoff and Coach Emmanuel Gonzalez coached the games against Pershing County, and Martinez said they “did a great job.” 

White Pine (4-5-1, 4-1-1) plays at winless West Wendover (0-3-1, 0-3-1) at 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.