Manzano sweeps Cats

Clovis senior Jessica Roark tumbles across the field as she traps the ball in between her legs during the first half of Friday’s game at Yucca Soccer Complex. Photo by Eric Kluth.

The Clovis High girls played competitively for the first 25 minutes, and they played Manzano to a scoreless tie over the final 29 minutes in Friday’s District 4-5A match at Yucca Soccer Complex.

In between, though, it was a nightmare for the Lady Wildcats.

Junior midfielder Leslie Wood compiled a hat trick as the Lady Monarchs took advantage of Clovis mistakes to notch a 7-0 victory over the Lady Cats (1-12, 0-3 district).

It took Manzano nearly 15 minutes to break the ice, the first goal coming on a free kick by senior midfielder Samantha Scales.

Junior forward Rebecca Hall then converted a Manzano corner kick with a header from close range at the 13:17 mark, and the Lady Monarchs (5-8, 2-1) broke Clovis’ back with two goals in a span of 31 seconds late in the half.

Wood scored the first, breaking down the middle and beating CHS goalkeeper Jessica Doss one on one from about 20 yards out. Then junior defender Jennifer Vieth launched a shot from just inside midfield that skipped off Doss’ hands and into the net with 3:49 left in the half.

“It was a slow start for us; I’m not so sure what was going on,” said Manzano coach Armando Diaz, whose team was to play another district match on Saturday at Hobbs. “I think sometimes the tendency is that when you’re playing a team that’s not playing that well, you tend not to play that well.

“But once we got going, we did all right.”

Wood and junior midfielder Caitlin Walker scored less than a minute apart early in the second half, and Wood punched home the final tally from about 10 yards out from the right side, going to the left corner of the net to score with 29:08 left.

“We played a better second half,” first-year CHS coach Larry Jones said. “I don’t think Manzano is that much better than us. We’ve just never put ourselves in a situation where we can get ahead.

“I can see improvement, but it’s just slow. But the only way for us to go is up.”

Manzano also won the junior varsity preliminary 11-1. Freshman Callie Rush scored the lone goal for the Lady Cats early in the second half.

BOYS

MANZANO 3, CHS 0 — In a match played in a steady rain, the Monarchs got two goals and an assist from junior forward Joaquin Herrera in the first half and went on to blank the Wildcats.

Herrera assisted on Manzano’s first goal in the 10th minute, scored by sophomore center midfielder Oscar Romero. Herrera then scored on an assist from Joel Rodriguez in the 30th minute and added an unassisted goal in the 38th minute.

The Monarchs (5-6-1, 1-2) outshot Clovis 13-6. Senior goalkeeper Dwayne Roberts had 10 saves for the Cats (1-12, 0-3).

The Cats did manage a win in junior varsity play, edging Manzano 2-1.