Cats dominate Cavemen 6-1 in 4-5A opener

The Clovis High boys soccer team kept its hot start to the season going on Tuesday night, pulling away in the second half for a 6-1 victory over Carlsbad in the District 4-5A opener for both squads at Leon Williams Stadium.

It was the eighth win in a row for the Wildcats (12-2), their longest streak since starting the season 13-0 in 2018 en route to a berth in the Class 5A state semifinals. They were expecting a test at home on Saturday from rival Hobbs (9-5-1, 0-1-1 district), which was coming off a 2-2, double-overtime tie at home against Roswell High on Tuesday.

Senior forward Ihab Mesbah posted a hat trick for the Cats, including two goals in the final 17 minutes when Clovis pulled away from a two-goal advantage over the Cavemen (2-13).

"We still haven't played our best games yet," CHS boys coach Greg Trujillo said. "Hopefully, we can put it all together.

"What it's going to come down to is who can capitalize on the other team's mistakes."

Mesbah assisted on a goal by junior forward/midfielder Felix Hernandez to open the scoring, then tallied on a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box to make it 2-0 at halftime.

Junior forward Jose Hererra and sophomore forward/midfielder Damian Navarrette also had second-half goals for Clovis. Herrera assisted on Mesbah's second tally of the match to make it 3-1, and Mesbah added another goal on a penalty kick a few minutes later.

Clovis outshot the Cavemen 11-7 on goal and had a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Senior keeper Angel Avila recorded six saves in the contest.

The Cats begin a three-match district road swing on Tuesday, traveling to Roswell High.

Lady Cats outlast Cavegirls – At Carlsbad, the Lady Wildcats got district play off to a good start by edging the Cavegirls 3-2.

Clovis was slated to travel to Hobbs on Saturday in another district tilt before hosting Roswell High at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Leon Williams Stadium.

Junior Ava Evans scored a pair of goals for CHS (5-8-2), including the deciding tally with about seven minutes remaining, taking a throw-in and moving down the left side into position for a shot.

Evans put the Lady Cats in front early, but the Cavegirls (4-11) quickly countered when senior Abby Dugan's found the back of the net about 13 minutes in. Clovis regained the lead early in the second segment when junior Anisa Maltos took advantage of the Cavegirls' failure to clear the ball and scored from close range.

Cavegirls senior forward/midfielder Lindsey Carter made it 2-2 in the 66th minute when she was able to put the ball into the next off a crossing pass.

"We played really good," CHS girls coach Ray Rodriguez said. "Offensively, we had a lot of good attacks.

"It was a real good, total team win."