Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff photo: Matthew Asher Portales’ Junior Salamon goes for a header off a corner kick in the second half of Thursday’s match. The header was unsuccessful as Portales was just 1-6 on corner kick opportunities in its 7-1 loss to Goddard.
STAFF WRITER
After 12 matches, the Portales Rams boys soccer team has finally lost its first game of the season coming by way of a 7-1 home loss against Goddard in one of Portales’ final non-conference games of the season.
“We just didn’t play very well,” Rams coach Nathan Dodge said. “It just wasn’t our day. We had point-blank chances at the goalie but the ball just didn’t go in.”
Staff photo: Matthew Asher
Portales’ Junior Salamon goes for a header off a corner kick in the second half of Thursday’s match. The header was unsuccessful as Portales was just 1-6 on corner kick opportunities in its 7-1 loss to Goddard.
Goddard (5-8) got started quickly when Jonathan Villa put his team up in the sixth minute of the first half. Then Jonathan Sanchez went on a tear in the remainder of the half as he would score the final six goals of the game, with five coming in the first half.”
“They were sending Sanchez down the line a lot,” Dodge said. “We just couldn’t keep up with him.”
Portales (10-1-1) had a 6-2 edge in corner kicks, but only converted one of them when Freddy Exiga headed in a goal in the 61st minute of the game. By then the score was 6-1. Goddard held a 12-5 advantage in shots overall.
Dodge was pleased with the way his team played on the pitch as they played as a team throughout and didn’t get visibly frustrated.
“We communicated better than we ever have,” Dodge said. “And talked in a positive way without getting on each other. It was a good thing, but we couldn’t win. I think a lot of this has to do with us being tired. This is our eighth game in three weeks, averaging three games a week. We also have four or five injuries. This takes a toll on you.”
As for the rest of the season, Dodge just wants his team to be at or near full strength when it comes time for a playoff run.
“We just got to keep working,” he said. “We need to get everybody healthy. District is where it counts. We set out to win district before the season so that’s still our goal.”
In Roswell, the Lady Rams didn’t fare much better as the Lady Rockets handed Portales a 6-1 loss.
Like the previous few games, Portales (5-10) conceded a few early goals to put them in a hole. Unlike the previous games, the Lady Rams made their adjustments at the half — they were just down by too many goals for a comeback.
“We played a lot better in the second half,” coach Ruben Tellez said. “We controlled the ball better and passed better. We could have given up. It could have been 10-0 at the half but they picked it up in the second half. We just need to work on some of our skills before conference (play).”
The Rams travel to Roswell on Saturday where they will face District 4-4A opponent NMMI at 3 p.m. while the Lady Rams travel to Lovington for a non-conference 1 p.m. match.
