The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate boys’ soccer team traveled to Aztec, N.M., on Saturday, Sept. 7, defeating the Aztec Tigers 5-0.
Coach Trevor Gian mentioned there were “a lot of good things” displayed by the Pirates in their win against the Tigers.
The Pirates went up 3-0 in the first half and logged two more goals in the second half, bringing the final score to 5-0.
The team tallied 23 total shots on goal, with Gavin Carter recording a hat trick.
Chance Ramirez and Christopher Young-Martinez each scored a goal as well.
Ryan Rich had two assists on the day, with Ryder King, Jacob Castaneda and Angelo Medina each recording one assist.
Gian noted the Pirates were able to generate “some really quality play there for a bit,” explaining that a couple of the Pirates’ goals came from “great through balls” that got in behind the Tigers’ defense.
He also mentioned that some of the Pirates’ other goals came as a result of some quality individual efforts.
“I think it was a mixed bag of that,” Gian said.
Gian also gave credit to Aztec’s goalkeeper, commenting that the Tiger goalie “had some really fantastic saves” and was in a good position a lot of the time.
“We could’ve put a lot more away,” Gian said, explaining that the Pirates had numerous quality scoring chances.
“That was a little disappointing,” Gian said, explaining that Aztec was able to stay in the game for a while with the Pirates unable to capitalize on all of their scoring chances.
“We can do better with that going forward, hopefully,” Gian said. “Basically, at the end of the day, we gotta find a way to put those away.”
Gian explained that the match was similar to the Pirates’ game against Montezuma-Cortez in that both teams battled hard and at times challenged the Pirates.
“We kind of left Aztec in it,” he added.
The Pirates received two yellow cards during the Aztec match, with Ramirez and Jonathon Rodriguez each receiving a caution.
Gian explained the game had “a lot of life” and that the Pirates’ yellow cards were a result of it being a tough physical matchup.
“The game did get physical,” Gian added, noting that’s just part of the game.
Official stats for Aztec were not available as of press time on Wednesday, but Pirate goalkeeper Young-Martinez recorded 13 saves on the day.
Young-Martinez was subbed out of goal in the last 10 minutes and moved to a forward position, in which he was able to notch the last goal for the Pirates.
Gian explained that he was hoping to get more players some experience and get them some playing time since there was no junior varsity-level game scheduled, but, unfortunately, the game was “a little tighter than I anticipated there.”
He added, “Any time I can, I’ll try to get those guys in.”
He also mentioned the Pirates displayed some quality build-up play from the back and through the midfield, but that there are still some things the team needs to work on defensively.
Gian mentioned the Tigers were physical and had speed on their team, which gave the Pirates some problems.
“They did find a couple ways to break us down defensively,” he said.
Gian explained the Pirates are still trying to find the right personnel groups and see where each player fits best positionally.
“A lot of those freshmen are going to start finding some time,” Gian said.
He also mentioned the Pirates’ communication with each other on the field is starting to improve.
“I’ve been pretty vocal myself and I need to kind of back off on some of that and let them find their voice, which I think is starting to click,” he said.
Gian mentioned the team is full of quality players and that they just need to find a way to put it all together.
“We got some really, really quality players — a really good team,” Gian added. “They found a way to win in a tough game.”
The Pirates will be playing three games over the next week with a road trip to Denver on Friday, Sept. 13 to take on DSST: Montview at 4 p.m.
Then on Saturday, Sept. 14, the Pirates will be in Manitou Springs to take on the Mustangs at 11 a.m.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the Pirates will travel to Crested Butte to face off against the Titans at 4 p.m.
When asked about the team’s fitness levels and if they’ll be prepared for the three game stretch, Gian replied, “We’re definitely gonna find out.”
He noted that Manitou Springs and Crested Butte will both be quality opponents.
“I think Manitou is going to be very, very quality,” he said, “It’s gonna be tough.”
Gian explained that he is not focused solely on the match results, but more so on improving and wanting to see the Pirates put in a solid effort with the “desire to try and get better,” especially against quality teams.
clayton@pagosasun.com
