Cats record perfect 10

How much can a team get better in two weeks? How about seven goals?

After beating Ruidoso at their home tournament two weeks ago 3-0, the Clovis boys soccer team toyed with the Warriors 10-0 in a game shortened by 51 seconds due to the mercy rule.

“We’ve improved that much,” coach Shaun Gill said of his team. It’s the Wildcats’ third straight win and evens their record at 5-5.

Sophomore forward Scott Elliott, junior Andrew Schaap, sophomore Jayme Nauman and senior Matt Loewen each scored twice for the Wildcats.

Elliott said the team played together, which he said had been lacking at times this season. They also didn’t give up on balls and try to kick them out of bounds. Instead, they looked for the open man or the upfield pass.

“We controlled the game like we should have,” Gill said. “We played above the competition.”

Sophomore Angel Fernandez and senior Kendal Essex also scored goals for the Wildcats. Essex added four assists while Nauman had two and Fernandez and Elliott one each.

The Wildcats outshot the Warriors 34-11, which led to a relatively uneventful day for the Clovis goalkeepers.

Sophomore Josh Bussen saw only four shots in the first half while senior Patrick Adams saw seven in the second half. However, most of the Ruidoso shots weren’t on net.

Up 4-0 going into the second half, play turned sloppy.

Clovis’ passes weren’t as crisp as in the first half. That didn’t stop the Wildcats from scoring on their first four shots to go up 8-0 with 28:45 left in the game.

Gill gave his backups some playing time midway through the second half.

Gill brought the starters back for the last 10 minutes of the game because he wanted to end the game on a clean note. They scored two more goals to finish the game.

The Wildcats have more than a week to savor the win.

“We’re a little bumped and bruised and we need the break,” Gill said.

The Wildcats junior varsity won 4-1, pushing their record to 3-0 on the season.