Cavegirls edge Lady Cats in district tilt 3-2

CARLSBAD – Clovis High's girls were unable to overcome a two-goal deficit in the second half on Tuesday night and the Lady Wildcats dropped a 3-2 decision to Carlsbad in District 4-5A soccer.

Already trailing Hobbs by a game in the district, the Lady Cats (12-4-1, 2-2 district) fell into a tie for second place with the Cavegirls (11-7-0, 2-2) with two matches remaining in the regular season.

After senior midfielder Aspen Ulibarri put Clovis in front in the 25th minute, junior midfielder/defender Abbey Dugan countered for Carlsbad with a pair of goals to give her team a 2-1 lead at halftime. The second tally came on a penalty kick after the Lady Cats were called for a handball in the box.

Sophomore forward/midfielder Natalia Franco then made it 3-1 early in the second half. Clovis pulled to within a goal when junior forward Ava Crain found the back of the net in the 59th minute, but the Cavegirls hung on down the stretch.

"We had our opportunities to equalize that game," Clovis girls coach Ray Rodriguez said. "We just couldn't do it."

Both teams had seven shots on goal. Senior keeper Aja Gonzales made four saves for the Lady Cats.

"They took advantage of our mistakes," Rodriguez said.

The Lady Cats returned to action on Saturday at district-leading Hobbs. They finish the regular year at home with a 6:30 p.m. tilt on Thursday against Roswell High at Leon Williams Stadium.

Cats, Cavemen battle to tie – The CHS boys were unable to pull one out against Carlsbad on Tuesday, settling for a 2-2 tie after two scoreless overtimes at Leon Williams Stadium.

The Wildcats (6-11-1, 1-2-1) also fell into a tie for second in the district with Carlsbad (2-14-1, 1-2-1), behind top-ranked and unbeaten Hobbs.

Clovis boys coach Greg Trujillo said the Cats dominated possession for much of the contest.

"We had a lot of 1-on-1s (against the Cavemen's keeper), and just couldn't get anything generated," he said.

The Cats had to rally back twice, getting a pair of tallies from junior forward Ihab Mesbah. The first came when he dribbled in and beat the Carlsbad netminder less than two minutes before halftime.

His second goal came in the 64th minute when he knocked the ball off a corner kick by senior midfielder/defender Isai Barraza. The teams then battled over the final 36 minutes – including the two 10-minute OT periods – with no one able to get a shot in the net.

Carlsbad broke the ice in the second minute of play when sophomore Jhovany Juarez beat CHS junior keeper Angel Avila. The Cavemen went back in front about six minutes into the second stanza on senior Braulio Moncayo's tally

Clovis was slated to host Hobbs on Saturday, and ends the regular season on Tuesday at Roswell High.