Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Portales High freshman Abigail Nunez advances the ball as ATC sophomore Angie Perez looks to defend. The Lady Rams collected all of their goals in the second half to notch a 4-2 win.
Portales High's soccer teams earned wins over Santa Fe-based Academy for Technology & The Classics on Saturday at the PHS pitch.
The PHS boys earned their first win of the season, defeating ATC 2-1, while the girls improved to 5-2-1 with a 4-2 triumph.
In the boys' tilt, ATC (4-3-1) scored in the fourth minute with sophomore midfielder Luis Gomez doing the honors, but shortly before halftime the Rams (1-5-1) pulled even when junior forward/midfielder Anthony Cordova found the back of the net. It stayed that way until PHS senior forward/midfielder Antonio Garcia beat the ATC keeper.
"They play better and better every time out," PHS coach Dustin Harden said of his squad. "They were excited, and I was about to lose my voice."
The Rams' tie was also against ATC, a 2-2 decision on Sept. 2 at Santa Fe. Senior Mathew Garcia made five saves in goal for Portales.
Meantime, the Lady Rams faced a 1-0 halftime deficit against ATC (3-3), but erupted for four tallies over the final 40 minutes, including two by sophomore Maria Lujan, to improve to 5-2-1 for the season.
Sophomore midfielder J'Lynn Maestas tied the score from about 30 yards out, assisted by Lujan before Lujan followed with her seventh and eighth goals of the season, the latter coming on a penalty kick. Eighth-grader Arianna Hernandez clinched the win with her first tally of the campaign in the final minute, coming off another assist by Lujan.
PHS won the earlier meeting in Santa Fe 2-1 in double overtime.
The Lady Rams were slated to visit Las Vegas Robertson on Tuesday night. Both PHS squads then jump into District 4-4A competition, the girls visiting Artesia on Saturday and the boys welcoming Lovington on Tuesday at Greyhound Stadium.
