Prep soccer: Rams fall 5-0 to Carlsbad

ROSWELL — Down three starters, and having to suit up several junior varsity players, Portales soccer was in for a long day on Friday. The Rams dropped a tough one to Carlsbad, 5-0, to open up the Roswell Coyote Classic Tournament.

“To be honest, we stepped our game up more,” Rams coach Juan Mendez said. “We worked the ball around better, but we gave up too many goals.”

Due to injuries, Mendez’ Rams (0-3) were without three starters, forcing a number of young JV players to step up and fill the void. Thus far, Mendez’ has been forced to constantly change the lineup. Nonetheless, he says the progress the team has made since he first took over is significant, and he’s optimistic that first win will be there soon.

“Like I told the guys, ‘It might be five games, it might be 10 games, before we get that win,’” Mendez explained. “But if you keep working hard and want it bad enough, we can get it.”

Mendez said that Carlsbad (2-2-2) had some skilled shooters and converted on pretty much every shot the Cavemen took. The Rams, meanwhile, did not have a whole lot of shots on goal in this one, which is something that Mendez says will have to change to earn a win today.

Speaking of today, Portales will play two more games to finish off the tournament. The Rams will either face NMMI or Roswell early in the day, and then will take on an unknown opponent later on. So, what will it take to get that first victory?

“The big thing is just working as a team,” Mendez said. “We were a better overall team than we had been (in the previous two games).”