Cats post win over Lovington

LOVINGTON – The Clovis High boys soccer team is off to a fast start this season, mostly at the expense of Lovington.

Junior forward/midfielder Julien Salinas scored on a rebound with about five minutes left, and the Wildcats (6-2) held on for their third victory in three tries against Lovington, a 3-2 decision on Saturday.

Salinas tapped in a rebound of a shot by senior forward Ihab Mesbah to snap a 2-2 tie and put the Cats into the winner’s circle. Mesbah, meantime, tallied twice in the opening stanza to stake Clovis to a 2-0 halftime lead.

“The first half, we played pretty well,” CHS boys coach Greg Trujillo said. “We moved the ball well and scored early.

“We came out pretty flat in the second half, and they scored a goal within the first minute.”

That cut the margin in half, and Lovington tied it shortly thereafter with a goal off a header.

“Once they got that first goal, it energized them,” Trujillo said. “We were trying to figure out how to neutralize their momentum.

“It was a game of two halves. They came out and gained the momentum pretty quick.”

Lovington actually outshot Clovis on goal 7-5, with senior Angel Avila making five saves. The Cats had a 5-2 margin in corner kicks.

Clovis was slated to host Pojoaque in a Tuesday match at Yucca Soccer Complex. The Cats play a 4 p.m. contest on Saturday at Los Cruces High, the first of four consecutive road outings.

Girls – The Lady Wildcats took it on the chin twice in a cross-state trip to Farmington over the weekend, losing to Farmington 9-0 on Friday and to Piedra Vista 6-0 on Saturday to fall to 3-6 for the season.

In Friday’s tilt, the Lady Scorpions (4-1) jumped on Clovis for a 4-0 halftime lead. Senior Danielle Bamba led the way for Farmington with four goals while freshman Cy Snyder had two and senior Maci Carter and juniors Logan Webb and Eliza Palmer added one apiece.

On Saturday, Piedra Vista (4-1) managed a 2-0 halftime advantage on goals by juniors Analyse Healy and Avery Hawkins before pulling away in the second stanza. Healy and junior Danica Krakow each had a pair of goals for the Lady Panthers, while freshman Mikaela Donaldson added the final tally.

CHS was slated to return to action on Tuesday against Artesia at Leon Williams Stadium. The Lady Cats visit Roswell Goddard for a 6 p.m. tilt on Thursday.