Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis High eighth-graders Ryan Worley (left) and Josiah Trujillo try to apply defensive pressure to Centennial's Edwin Miramontes during Friday's boys soccer match at Leon Williams Stadium. The visiting Hawks posted a 7-1 victory over the Wildcats.
Clovis High junior Ava Crain sure didn't waste any time scoring on Thursday night.
Crain had goals in the first minute of each half, and it was enough to allow the Lady Wildcats to slip past Roswell Goddard 2-1 at Leon Williams Stadium.
Crain raced in behind the Lady Rockets' defense and beat Goddard sophomore goalkeeper Kailani Houghtby to stake the Lady Cats (7-2-1) to a 2-0 lead. She took feeds from senior defender Maricela Jimenez on the first goal and junior forward/midfielder Natalie Griego on the second.
"I think I was just staying in my run and it got into my possession," said Crain, a 5-foot-3 forward, of the first goal, which came 49 seconds into the contest. "The second one (just 37 seconds into the second half) was pretty much the same thing."
It seemed Clovis would be able to cruise to the win, but the Lady Rockets (5-3) made it tight when sophomore forward/midfielder converted a corner kick in a scramble in front of the net about midway through the second half. Goddard, though, never really got in position to score again.
CHS girls coach Ray Rodriguez was a little disappointed his team couldn't put the match out of reach earlier.
"We get up on these teams and we decide all we want to do Is play defense," he said. "You've got to push the issue."
Crain, who had her second two-goal match of the week and now leads the Lady Cats this season with eight, echoed those thoughts.
"We could've been better," she said. "But at the end of the day we won, and that's all that matters."
The Lady Cats have been a bit shorthanded of late, with three starters out due to injury and illness as they approach their District 4-5A slate.
"It'll make a big difference when we get our other starters back," Rodriguez said. "Our district is always going to be a dogfight."
CHS plays a return match at Goddard on Thursday, then travels to Belen on Saturday.
Clovis 3, Artesia 0 (Tuesday) – Junior forward/midfielder Ava Crain scored a pair of goals in a span of less than two minutes and the Lady Cats did all their offensive damage after halftime in blanking the Lady Bulldogs at Artesia.
Crain scored the first goal of the match in the 63rd minute, then made it 2-0 shortly thereafter. Senior midfielder Aspen Ulibarri added the final tally with less than four minutes remaining.
Senior goalkeeper Aja Gonzales made two saves en route to the shutout.
The Cats were to travel to Artesia on Saturday. They then host Portales in a 6:30 p.m. start on Tuesday at Leon Williams Stadium.
Centennial 7, Clovis 1 (boys, Friday) – In a boys matchup at Leon Williams Stadium, the Hawks dropped the Wildcats to 2-8 for the season, leading 3-1 at halftime and pulling away from there.
CHS returns to action on Tuesday with a 6:30 p.m. contest at Artesia.
PHS tilts postponed – Thursday girls and boys matches sending West Las Vegas to Portales High were postponed due to the threat of inclement weather. The schools expect to come to a common date for makeups.
PHS squads return to action on Tuesday, with the boys playing the CHS varsity at Leon Williams Stadium and the Lady Rams facing the Clovis junior varsity at Yucca Complex. Both contests are slated for 6:30 p.m. starts.
