Lady Cats place fifth in Roswell tourney
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ROSWELL — Clovis High’s girls bounced back from a first-round loss to win twice and finish fifth over the weekend in a season-opening, eight-team tournament.
Organ Mountain got a pair of first-half goals from senior Marisa Harrington and held off the Lady Wildcats 2-0 in Friday’s quarterfinals. The Lady Knights went on to finish second, losing in the finals to Las Cruces High 3-0.
On Saturday, CHS handed Lovington an 8-1 setback in the consolation semifinals, then scored three second-half goals to turn back Alamogordo 4-1.
“It wasn’t too bad a start, but I wish it had been better,” Lady Cats coach Ray Rodriguez said. “We’re going to work on our mistakes.
The first match was a physical, defensive struggle. Organ Mountain outshot the Lady Cats on goal 6-3, with junior Aja Gonzales collecting four saves in goal for Clovis.
“That Organ Mountain team was physical,” Rodriguez said. “The first half was not good, but the second half we got it together and Organ Mountain had trouble getting to the goal.”
The Lady Cats got two goals each from sophomore forward/midfielder Natalie Griego and Ava Crain and senior midfielder Caley Adams. Griego against Lovington, while senior midfielder Reece Harmon and junior midfielder Aspen Ulibarri added a goal apiece. Griego, Crain and Ulibarri were each credited with an assist.
Clovis dominated in shots on goal 16-5 and had a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Adams scored twice against Alamo, getting the first one about three minutes into the contest, but the Lady Tigers tied it 1-1 before halftime. Griego scored early in the second half on an assist from freshman midfielder Andrea Chavez, and Ulibarri and Adams tacked on insurance tallies — the latter coming on a penalty kick.
CHS was slated to host Lovington on Tuesday night at Leon Williams Stadium. The Lady Cats visit Artesia on Thursday and Socorro on Saturday.
Cats fall at Hope Christian — The CHS boys were handed a 4-0 loss by Hope Christian in their season opener on Thursday in Albuquerque.
Wildcats coach Greg Truijillo said his contingent was a bit undersized against the Huskies.
“They’re stacked this year; they’ve got great size,” he said. “We were getting knocked all over the place.”
Hope posted a 17-2 edge in shots on goal and a 6-1 margin in corner kicks. The Huskies, who broke the scoring ice in the 26th minute, led 2-0 at the intermission and got a goal apiece from four players.
The Cats returned to action on Tuesday night at Portales. The Rams’ season opener at New Mexico Military was rained out on Saturday and PHS athletic director Ruth Chavez said the teams plan to reschedule.
Clovis returns to action on Friday and Saturday in a tournament at Los Alamos. Meantime, PHS squads are set to host Ruidoso in a doubleheader on Saturday, starting with the girls’ tilt at 11 a.m.
