By Josh Pike
Staff Writer
The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate soccer team dropped a close game against Montezuma-Cortez on April 13 at home before winning a 10-0 match against Ignacio in Ignacio on April 16.
The Lady Pirates lost their match against the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers 2-1, with the Panthers scoring once in each half and Pagosa scoring once in the second half.
“I felt great about it, to be honest,” coach Trevor Gian commented on the game. “I felt like we played really hard, showed a lot of effort, matched them on their intensity for the whole game, kind of took it to them for a little bit there at the beginning, too. Again, it’s kind of unfortunate not to get the result there, but … that game could go either way there, and we showed a lot of resiliency getting back in after going down 2-0.”
He explained that the Lady Pirates were leading the game in terms of momentum and shots on goal for much of the first half until the Panthers scored and momentum shifted back toward them.
Gian noted that halftime was valuable for the team as it gave them “a chance to recharge” and to begin taking back the momentum in the second half.
He stated that the Lady Pirates fully regained momentum following a goal by Elizabeth Currier in the second half that brought the game to 2-1.
“Definitely put Cortez on their heels for a while there at the end in just trying to push forward to get that tying goal,” he said. “At the beginning, we did a fantastic job coming after them, working on things we’ve been working on, finding some quality opportunities. An unlucky goal there on … our part ,that sort of took us down and then definitely that second half was good to see that response.”
He stated that the number of shots on goal was similar for both teams, adding, “If we can put a couple of those opportunities away, those quality opportunities, then things will change.”
Gian highlighted the performance of Pagosa, goalkeeper Kiera Davis, stating, “After that first goal, she responded fantastic. She had some really great saves as well. … Made some really clutch saves for us. Goalies sometimes get taken for granted because you’re expecting them to stop that but I think her response in that game was just as good as everybody else.”
He added that the team is still working on positioning and formation, including determining the ideal positions for players and working on staying in assigned positions.
Gian stated that the team went through a range of formations in the earlier part of the season, but has found a formation that appears to be effective and is now being fine-tuned.
The Lady Pirates followed the match against the Panthers with a 10-0 victory against the Ignacio Bobcats.
Gian stated that the game was 8-0 at halftime and that the game continued for 15 to 20 minutes in the second half before it went to 10-0 and the mercy rule came into effect, ending the game.
“Really like we’ve been doing every game, we try to go in there, work on what we’ve been building on, work with the starters going in and basically trying to improve on the last game as far as maintaining possession, finding quality opportunities on goal, working the ball around back through the middle, stuff like that,” he said. “We did a pretty decent job of that. We were able to kind of run away some points just out of sheer athleticism. But, at the end of the day, really it was just the positivity. The effort was there again from everybody. We got everybody to play a pretty significant amount of time for what we were able to get out of the game. We saw a couple quality finishes, some really good passing here and there — all around just a really positive game.”
Gian commented that all Pagosa’s players performed well in the game.
Of the starting players, Gian highlighted Currier, who scored three goals in the match; Lauren Monterroso, who scored two goals; and Ximena Garcia, who “took one all the way from the back, just dribbled all the way through and got in and put one away.”
Gian stated that, among the players who were substituted into the game “there were some quality looks as well.”
He indicated that Davis scored a goal in the second half, departing from her usual position as goalkeeper.
“Probably one of the best-looking goals was a breakaway by Jeidy Moreno Echavarria,” Gian said. “She was going one-on-one down the field. She took it across a defender and she ended up finishing. That was the last goal of the game, but I know she’s been probably itching to get up front a little bit and she got herself an opportunity, so that was pretty cool.”
The Lady Pirates will play Alamosa next on Friday, April 19, in Alamosa at 4 p.m., followed by a home game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, against the Durango junior varsity team.
The team will then play Bayfield at home at 4 p.m. on April 26.
The matches against Alamosa and Bayfield will both be league rematches.
Alamosa previously defeated Pagosa 4-0 on April 5, while the Pirates tied Bayfield 1-1 on April 9.
Gian commented that he is excited for the rematches against Alamosa and Bayfield now that the team has more experience and playing time.
“I’m kind of excited just to go back and play them again now that we’ve worked a little more through the season,” Gian said. “We’re building on each game, and I’m just really excited to see what we bring to the table there. And definitely by getting a rematch against them we kind of know what we’re going up against, where we fit in that and, quite frankly, I think we fit perfectly. It won’t be an easy game, as we’ve seen, but I’m hoping to go into Alamosa and just show that effort we’ve been showing the last few games. The results may or may not come, but if we show that effort, I give us a good chance there.”
He added that the same statement applies to the rematch against Bayfield.
Gian also notes that he expects the game against the Durango Demons to be challenging and for the Demons to bring skilled and athletic players to the match.
