H.S. SOCCER: Clovis boys open with shutout

CLOVIS — Three things made the Clovis boys soccer team happy about Tuesday's season opener against Lovington at Clovis High School's Leon Williams Stadium.

First was the outcome, which favored Clovis by a 5-0 count.

Second was the shutout posted by Wildcats goalie Spencer Rollins with the help of stubborn defenders in front of him.

Third was just getting onto the turf, starting the season.

"It was really nice to finally get out here and get the boys going," said Clovis assistant coach Daniel Rojas, filling in with postgame interviewing for head coach Greg Trujillo, who lost his voice. "It feels really good to be out here again. It's a little bit different coming out here on the turf compared to us (practicing) at Yucca (Middle School) because the turf's always faster, but we come out and practice on here a few days before our games. We get a little bit used to it, but it's never going to be the same as grass."

"It was wonderful just to play with the team," said Markus Baumann, who scored two Wildcat goals in the second half. "We're finally back into the season. We've been working hard all summer and it's a great feeling to be back."

"This is the most cohesive team we've had in a long time," said Rollins, whose shutout included seven saves. "I think we can really be great this year."

Clovis had scored three times with barely 15 minutes elapsed in the second half, transforming what had been a still-close 2-0 game at halftime into a rout. Though Baumann supplied two-thirds of those goals, he was humble about it.

"It was really a team effort," he said. "Everyone doing their part, playing their part, setting me up for the goals."

The game's scoring began off a first-half corner kick from Elias Ortega, setting up an impressive header by Junior Valdez that found the Lovington net, giving Clovis a 1-0 lead with little more than eight minutes gone by.

With just under 10 minutes left before halftime, Ortega scored from close range to make it 2-0.

The second-half scoring began when Baumann connected with a header just two minutes in, and on a Clovis rush 10 minutes later, Baumann narrowly missed a shot wide left, but Gabe Barrowman was right there to punch it home.

"Gabe just came up and picked up that trash," Rojas said.

It took Clovis just four more minutes to score again, when Baumann knocked in Clovis' last goal.

Rollins and Clovis' defense took it from there, especially sophomore Jose Mendoza, who repeatedly broke up Lovington plays.

"It's a whole lot of positives," Rojas said, "and it gets us excited for the rest of our season."