Portales soccer teams sweep Saturday

POJOAQUE — The Rams girls soccer team had a big bounce back win on Saturday, following a 4-0 shutout loss at St. Mike’s the day before. Portales scored three first-half goals in a 3-0 win over Pojoaque Valley to move back to the .500 mark.

“The girls played better today,” Rams coach Ruben Tellez said. “Our touches, our passing and overall mental focus was at a higher level than (Friday). St. Mike’s had beaten a majority of teams by 10 goals, but we played our hearts out. But, we struggled with passing and our touches, forcing us to play a lot of defense.”

Needless to say, the Rams (4-4) made huge strides from one day, to the next. Freshman striker Zoe Roy got it started for Portales early, scoring in just the fifth minute. From there, Portales would add a pair of late first half goals against the Elkettes (2-4). Daniela Exiga knocked one home in the 30th minute, before Michaela Garcia added the third and final score in the 37th minute.

“Today, we were much more aggressive and played smarter. We worked on things we had to do,” Tellez explained. “We came out ready to fix our mistakes from the previous game.”

The Rams’ five-game road trip resumes all throughout next week. However, Portales will get to play much closer to home on Tuesday, when it rematches Clovis at 6 p.m. The Wildcats beat the Rams, 8-0, at Greyhound Stadium, back on Sept. 6.

Boys top Elks 3-1 — Portales boys soccer had its backs against the wall in the first half of Saturday’s game against Pojoaque. The Elks started gaining momentum, after tying the match at 1-1. But, coach Juan Mendez’ Rams kept fighting and fighting, resulting in a 3-1 victory.

“We started off a little rocky, but then (our goal) got our heads back in the game. Then Pojoaque scored. Once they scored, we kind of lost control of the game,” Mendez explained. “But, we managed to score another goal and shut them down.”

From there, Portales (2-6) added another goal in the second half, to hold off the Elks (3-5) by the previously-mentioned 3-1 final score. According to Mendez, his team was a completely different team after halftime.

“My guys came out and worked hard on the field. The defense really stepped up and shut their forwards down,” Mendez said. “We deserved to win and the guys made sure they earned it.”

Portales had 10 shots on goal, while goalie Brayan Tinajero had six saves. For the Rams, it’s their first win since the Coyote Classic against Silver City. Next up, they’ll rematch with NMMI on Tuesday. The Colts beat Portales, 3-1, in that same Coyote Classic Tournament in Roswell.

“We have a difficult game coming up on Tuesday. But if we play like we did in the second half against Pojoaque, we will have a good chance at beating NMMI,” Mendez said. “The guys stepped up today and did some work.”