Prep soccer: Portales girls keep playoff hopes alive

PORTALES — The Portales High girls soccer team endured a rough outing on Friday afternoon with a blowout courtesy of Hope Christian. On Saturday afternoon, however, the Rams looked to bounce back against Moriarty, and bounce back they did at Greyhound Stadium.

Portales (7-10, 2-3) desperately needed the district win to stay alive in the playoff race, and the Rams did just that. Kimberlie Hay notched a hat trick to pace Portales to a 3-1 victory over the Pintos.

"The girls were down from last night, and I didn't say much to them last night — I just wanted them to think about it," Rams coach Ruben Tellez explained. "Today, I told them before the game, 'We have 10 or 12 seniors and no one is picking each other up. This should have been the perfect opportunity as seniors to lead."

Moriarty (13-6, 3-2) controlled the ball at Portales' end of the field for most of the first-half, until about the 25th minute. From there, the Rams began putting pressure on the Pintos, and finally, in the 32nd minute, Portales found the net.

Angie Gonzalez' corner kick went right to a crashing Hay, who headed it in for the lead. Six minutes later, the duo was able to replicate the exact same play from the opposite corner, leading to another perfectly executed goal to go ahead, 2-0.

"I think that the girls were stationary," Moriarty coach Valerie Luker said of her team's first-half performance. "They weren't marking the runners as they came in. We just didn't capitalize on being in the attacking third, the first-half of the game. That was very frustrating and there will definitely be some things that we change up."

Moriarty would put one through in the 68th minute, as Ashley Strader took a long pass in the open field, waited for Portales goalkeeper Zully de la Torre to make the first move, and then drilled it past her to cut the deficit to 2-1. Portales, however, would respond minutes later, as a handball in the box allowed Hay to try a penalty kick, which resulted in her third goal of the afternoon.

For the Rams, the win keeps them alive in the playoff hunt, as a win on Tuesday at Ruidoso could potentially qualify them for the postseason.

"They know what it's like in Ruidoso. We went down there last year, and they have that taste of a game taken away from us, because we thought we were gonna go in there and just win," Tellez said. "They know what it's gonna mean and they'll be relaxed - I'll get them relaxed. They can't change the way they play, because if they do, it's just gonna be terrible. We'll be fine, we'll be ready."

The Portales boys (7-8, 1-4), meanwhile, had another tough day, as they fell 6-0 to Moriarty (12-5-1, 5-1). The Pintos' Franklin Rea recorded a hat trick in the match, as he now has 12 goals on the season.

"That was nice," Pintos coach Jordan Allcorn said. "He's actually had trouble scoring this year, so it was nice to see him have a little bit of an explosion. He had a few chances and he put them all away."

Rea took a long pass in the third minute and outraced everyone to the goal, as he knocked it past Rams goalie Brian Tinajero. The game would remain 1-0 for most of the first half, but then Moriarty exploded from there, recording two late first-half scores.

Rea took another long, open-field pass and this time, got past two defenders to put another one through. Soon after, a Pintos corner kick appeared to be cleared away by Andrew Villegas on a header, but it was knocked back to Lucas Shirley, who blasted a shot from 30 yards out, as it nailed the top of the net.

Moriarty would soon add to that 3-0 lead with three more goals in the second-half, including Rea's third goal of the day. When it was all said and done, the Pintos outshot the Rams, 15-3.

The Pintos could potentially have a shot at a district title against Hope Christian, if they can get past NMMI first. As for the Rams, the next three games are all must-wins. If they can pull it off, the Rams may very well find themselves in the playoffs this year.

"I just want them to show up and compete the next three games, and give us a chance to at least make it to the state tournament," Portales coach Nathan Dodge explained. "All you gotta do is get a chance — 1-12 can win, it doesn't matter who it is. Heck, last year a five or a seven won, something like that. Just gotta have a chance."