Clovis soccer teams split Saturday

LOS ALAMOS — After a couple of tough losses on Friday, the Clovis High boys soccer team salvaged one in Saturday’s final round of the eight-team Louie Cernicek Invitational, edging past Aztec 2-1 in the seventh-place matchup.

Sophomore midfielder Albert Deleon scored the deciding goal for the Wildcats (2-3) in the 72nd minute. Clovis held on with solid defense, limiting the Tigers (3-2) to just two shots on goal in the contest.

“That summarized our weekend,” CHS coach Greg Trujillo said. “We couldn’t put the ball in the net, so it was a little frustrating.

“(But) our defense only gave up three goals for the weekend, so that’s a positive.”

The Cats dropped a pair of 1-0 decisions on Friday, first to Los Lunas in the quarterfinals and then to Piedra Vista in the consolation semifinals.

Trujillo said the Cats were a bit sluggish against Los Lunas. Senior Diego Flores scored the only goal of the match for the Tigers (2-2) about two minutes before halftime.

“We looked like we hadn’t played together in a long time,” Trujillo said. “We played better against Piedra Vista. We moved the ball well and we had countless opportunities, but we hit the crossbar two or three times or we’d miss the target.”

The Panthers (4-1) got the game’s only tally when junior Max Eisenfeld scored in the 29th minute. CHS peppered PV freshman keeper Ben Herrera with nine shots on goal, but he was equal to the task.

Clovis returns to action for a 6 p.m. matchup against Hobbs on Tuesday at Leon Williams Stadium. The Eagles defeated the Cats 1-0 in double overtime at Hobbs on Aug. 17.

Trujillo said his squad was a bit banged up over the weekend and was without a couple of players at Los Alamos, one taking an ACT test and the other dealing with a family matter.

“Hopefully, by Tuesday we’ll be back at full strength,” he said.

Girls go 1-2 in tourney — In Taos, Clovis High’s girls soccer team had plenty of success finding scoring opportunities.

Finding the back of the net was another matter, however, as the team managed four goals over a 1-2 weekend at the Taos Tournament.

The Wildcats (3-2) opened Friday with a 3-0 victory over Santa Fe, but dropped their next two decisions — 4-0 Friday against Farmington and 2-1 Saturday against Bosque.

Over the three games, Clovis had 19 shots on goal against just 11 by their opponents and a 22-5 advantage in corner kicks.

“They’re disappointed because we didn’t win,” Clovis coach Traci Sievers said. “Yesterday, the score looked lopsided but we really played well after they got those first goals. We were able to get an attack going, but we couldn’t finish. Today was the same kind of deal.

“Overall, we’re a young team and it’s going to take a while for the chemistry to develop.”

Sofia Rico had a goal and assist in the opener, connecting with Aydan Everett on a corner kick in just the fourth minute and then scoring on a penalty kick in the 31st minute. Alandra Romero capped off the scoring, with an assist from Alyson Gallagher on a through ball.

Arin Coleman had a pair of goals and an assist for Farmington, which outshot Clovis 6-4.

On Saturday Genevieve Gray scored both goals Saturday for Bosque in the first half, and Clovis cut the lead with a Mariah Loya goal in the 46th minute.

Clovis travels to Goddard Tuesday night.