Demons keep picking up steam
Santa Fe High rolls over previously undefeated Taos
Michael Hensley separated the soccer coach from the soccer fan Tuesday night. As the Taos head boys soccer coach watched Santa Fe High dominate almost all facets of its 4-0 nondistrict win over the previously undefeated Tigers at Santa Fe High’s multipurpose field, he couldn’t help but admire the performance.
“It was beautiful to watch,” Hensley said. “I hate to be on the other side. As a coach who loves the game, I appreciate what they did. I’m surprised they actually lost a [match].”
Oh, but the Demons (5-2) have. Hensley couldn’t fathom it, after watching them control possession, dominate most of the 50-50 balls and pepper Taos (6-1) with shot after shot. Still, it took Santa Fe High until the 50th minute before it could break through with a goal until Johnny Manzanare took a corner kick in front of the net and knocked it to the left of Taos goalie Milo Collignon.
The first half, though, was one of frustration. Hunter had a near point-blank shot from the right flank blocked by Collignon, and the Tigers keeper deflected another by Sebastian Lopez at the 30-minute mark. Late in the first half, Jeferson Alonzo had a breakaway down the left sideline come up empty when he skidded his shot wide right.
“It’s an indication of good play,” Hunter said of the multitude of chances the Demons had. “You just have to keep your head up and maybe we’ll get one in.”
Hensley had seen this show before.
“They hit the crossbar or the post eight or nine times against St. Mike’s [a 3-2 loss on Aug. 31],” Hensley said.
Once the Demons finally started scoring, they didn’t stop. Matt Hunter had a pair of goals in the 54th and 65th minutes, then Kiran Smelser added a final goal in a breakaway in stoppage time even though Santa Fe High played a man down when Brandon Linares received a red card in the 72nd minute.
It was vintage Santa Fe High, and Demons head coach Rob Quirk and assistant Cesar Sanchez hope it’s just the beginning of what is to come. They couldn’t have picked a better time to turn up the wick on their play, considering District 5-5A season begins Sept. 26 against reigning bigschool champion Albuquerque High on the road.
“I think this sends a bit of a message, since this is a quality team and they’re undefeated,” Quirk said. “We know Albuquerque High is a different level than the [matches] we’ve played prior to this one and maybe Santa Teresa [which beat Santa Fe High 4-0 on Sept. 14].”
They’ve shown glimpses of it, scoring seven goals in three straight matches early in the season. Granted, Pojoaque Valley, Miyamura and Santa Fe Prep are not Albuquerque High, Sandia or even Capital, and Santa Fe High received a wakeup Sept. 14 when it traveled south to play Santa Teresa and lost 4-0.
Quirk said the Demons controlled possession for 70 percent of the match early on, but lost focus when the Desert Warriors scored on its second shot midway through the first half and never recovered.
“We need to persevere more,” Hunter said.
“And bring a tent,” Quirk added, alluding to the mid-90s temperature in which the teams played.
However, the Tigers weren’t exactly at their best, thanks to the most grueling part of the schedule. This was their fourth match in eight days, and it showed quickly.
“The midfield is running 6 to 10 miles a match,” Hensley said. “It’s just brutal. They’ve run more than a marathon in the last week.”
The Demons, though, never slowed down.
They hope they don’t until November.