Lady Cats outlast Goddard

CLOVIS — In a match they dominated for the most part, it looked like Clovis High's girls were staring at overtime.

In the nick of time, sophomore defender Madeline Howalt put up a shot from about 25 yards out in the final minute of regulation, lofting it over Goddard goalkeeper Emily Mathison to give the Lady Wildcats a 4-3 victory on Tuesday at Leon Williams Stadium.

Sophomore Sofia Rico had a pair of goals as Clovis (4-3) ended a three-match losing streak.

"We found a way to win," Lady Cats coach Traci Sievers said. "We had kind of let them get the momentum."

For the match, CHS outshot the Lady Rockets 13-6 on goal and had a 12-1 margin in corner kicks.

With seemingly about 35 of the 40 minutes played in Goddard's end during the first half, the Lady Cats seemed comfortable despite managing only a 2-0 lead.

"I think we played pretty well in the first half," Sievers said. "We had some opportunities that we didn't finish, but defensively we played well."

The contest turned less than three minutes into the second half when senior Esme Rivera converted a loose ball in front of the net for Goddard (2-5-1) after CHS keeper Hannah Howell stopped the first Lady Rockets shot.

Rico countered, though, less than seven minutes later to restore a two-goal margin, but it didn't hold up.

Goddard senior Jeanette Aragon tallied twice, the latter tying it with eight minutes remaining.

Howalt saved the day, though, when she launched her shot from near the right hashmarks on the football field. It was her second goal of the season.

"I saw a (Goddard) player, and I was just trying to get around her," Howalt said. "I was taking a lot of shots today, and I was excited to see that one find the back of the net."

It probably shouldn't have come down to that.

"I feel like our defense really weakened in the second half," Howalt said. "They were going over the top of us and beating us to the goal."

Rico and freshman Madison Lynch put the Lady Cats in front with goals about 2 1/2 minutes apart midway through the first half. Lynch, playing for the first time since the second match of the season after suffering a concussion, made a nice spin move to clear herself from a Goddard defender and punched a shot past Mathison to the right corner of the net.

"It was good to get a win," Sievers said. "Some of these girls played varsity last year and some played (junior varsity). They have to get confidence playing with each other and trusting each other."

The Lady Cats visit Hobbs in a 3 p.m. clash on Saturday. Clovis beat the Lady Eagles 2-1 at home last month.

Cats top NMMI — At Roswell, senior forward Markus Baughman had two goals and an assist to help CHS blank New Mexico Military 3-0.

Baughman scored on an assist from Jones in the third minute for the Wildcats (4-4), and that margin held up until junior forward Kade Jones scored on an assist from Baughman less than three minutes into the second half. Baughman added a final tally in the closing minutes.

The Cats had an 8-1 advantage over the Colts (3-3) in shots on goal.

Clovis returns to action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. match at Lovington.