Eagles edge Cats on overtime goal

Clovis High went back and forth for 80 minutes with Hobbs in Saturday's District 4-5A boys soccer match at Leon Williams Stadium.

It didn't take the Eagles long to break through, though, when the contest went into overtime.

Senior Alexis Sanchez found an opening just inside the 18-yard box and punched the ball into the net just 32 seconds into sudden-death overtime to give the Eagles a 1-0 victory.

It was a tough loss for the Wildcats (12-3, 1-1 district), snapping their eight-match winning streak and lifting the Eagles (10-5-1, 1-0-1) into a tie for the early lead with Roswell High. The Eagles and Coyotes (11-4-1, 1-0-1) tied their 4-5A opener 2-2 on Tuesday in Roswell.

Veteran CHS coach and Hobbs alum Greg Trujillo was disappointed his team couldn't find a way to put the tilt into the win column in what was, overall, a relatively even battle.

"We had clear opportunities to score in the first half," he said. "We just couldn't finish."

Scoring opportunities were few and far between for both squads. The Cats, who missed a couple of scoring chances either wide or high over the net, finished with just one shot on goal overall to four for Hobbs.

Everything is still wide open in the district. The Cats, Eagles and Coyotes appear to be relatively even, but Clovis has three of its remaining four outings on the road and will have to win when they visit Hobbs on Oct. 19.

"I think we can do that, though," Trujillo said. "I want to go back and watch film (of this match) and see just what happened.

"It was an even match. I told the guys (beforehand), 'You're going to have the opportunity to win the game or lose it.'"

The Cats began a stretch of three consecutive road outings on Tuesday at Roswell High before finishing the regular campaign at home against the Coyotes on Oct. 22. They travel to Carlsbad on Saturday.

Hobbs 6, Clovis 0 (girls, Saturday) – At Hobbs, the teams were locked in a scoreless tie until the Lady Eagles (13-3, 2-0 district) broke through in the final minute of the half. Hobbs added another goal early in the second stanza and gradually pulled away.

"We were right there with them," Lady Cats coach Ray Rodriguez said. "It was just those little, small breakdowns."

Things got away after halftime.

"We were just dysfunctional on the defensive end," Rodriguez said. "They were a lot more aggressive than we were."

While the boys are getting ready to hit the road, the Lady Cats began a stretch of three home district matches on Tuesday night against Roswell High. Their next outing is on Saturday at home against Carlsbad.