Tigers sweep, claim sangre with furious 3-game pile-on

With both boys and girls soccer teams starting out their respective seasons with home tournaments, fans got a firsthand look at the upcoming talent.

Last week the girls went 1-0-1 with a convincing win against Bernalillo in the opener and a stalemate against Navajo Prep. Despite the rare tie, goalkeeper, Amire Olivas, yielded no goals. A third game scheduled against East Mountain was subsequently cancelled due to inclement weather.

The same could be said for Milo Colignon, who shut out all three of his opponents thus far as the starting goalkeeper for the Taos Tigers who went 3-0 in their respective tourney.

“I feel confident in my role,” said Collignon, alluding to his assignment setting up the defenders and calling shifts while also guarding the net. “But the backs and midfielders deserve the credit for keeping the ball on the Taos side of the field the majority of the time.”

Indeed, the Tigers backfield seemed impenetrable. But the front line was equally impressive.

Taos started play in what would be considered their home and season opener at noon in the annual gathering with a 4-0 win against the Robertson Cardinals. Coach Michael Hensley’s squad followed up with a 10-0 drubbing of the East Mountain Timberwolves later in the evening Aug. 31. The Tigers rounded out the trifecta of wins with a 9-0 rout against the Kirtland Central Broncos Sept. 1. The 23 goals scored thus far has placed Taos atop the standings in class 4A.

Next up for the Tigers is their first road game at Capital High in Santa Fe Sept. 8. The class 5A Jaguars are currently 2-1 on the season and are coming off a

10-0 win of their own over Grants.

Both boys and girls return to Taos Eco Park for a pair of home games against Bernalillo. The Lady Tigers

(1-1-1 overall) take the field at 4 p.m. and the boys will follow at 6 p.m. Cost to view the game is $5.

Arcenio J. Trujillo During one of his attempts to clear the ball and keep it away from Taos attackers like John Esquibel (number 14, in white), James Hutchinson from Robertson prepares to blast the ball downfield during the Sangre de Cristo tournament opener Aug. 31. The Tigers blanked the Cardinals 4-0 in this game and would go on to score an additional 19 points in their two other games.