Tigers’ boys soccer season comes to an end
The Taos High School boys soccer team ran into a brick wall on the pitch last Saturday night (Oct. 29) when they faced off against top-ranked Lovington on the road. The final score was 6-0, with Lovington moving on to the Semifinals in the 2021 Fuddruckers Boys Soccer State Championship tournament and the Tigers taking the long bus ride home (Lovington is located just north of Hobbs, and is a roughly six-hour bus ride from Taos).
The Tigers earned their matchup against the best team in the state by defeating a tough Goddard team in the first round of the playoffs. But the Lovington Wildcats proved a bit too much for this young THS team to handle. Lovington senior star forward Cristian Mendoza and junior Kevin Gallegos each had two goals. On the other side, Issac Hinson showed his skill in the net, saving both of Taos’ shots on goal and keeping the Tigers score at nil. Lovington will face off against the Hope Christian Huskies (a 5-seed with a 16-4-1 record).
It was a tough season for the Tigers, filled with ups and downs, a lot of new faces, and plenty of adversity. But first-year head coach Raul Cavaller says he is proud of his team.
“We are happy to see how much we improved as a team during the season. We are upset because we lost in Lovington and we can’t play the semifinals, but if we look back we are proud of the soccer we’ve played those last three weeks,” he said. “Players showed up and gave more than was expected, and seeing it from the bench, we saw the boys having fun playing soccer, that makes us happy at the end of the season.”
After a season that saw pandemic uncertainty, Cavaller said the team was just happy to be out on the pitch. But, Cavaller added, the team has new players and a new coach, so it takes time to find a rhythm. As the season drew to a close, the Tigers did become a cohesive and efficient team. Though the season ended with a sub-500 record (9-10), the team won 6 of its final 8 games heading into the matchup against Lovington. Unfortunately, their lateseason surge just wasn’t enough to get them out of having to face a juggernaut team like Lovington on the road to the championship.
For Coach Cavaller, the season was about improving the teams’ young core and preparing for the 2022 season.
“We need to rest for two weeks now. The season was superintense,” he said. “Next season will begin for us after these two weeks: rethinking, planning, organizing.”
As for tackling a difficult season with a number of unique challenges? Coach Cavaller said he couldn’t have done it alone.
“We are really thankful to our AD Nando Chavez, to Ms. Fatima Chavez from the Athletic Office for all their help during the season and playoffs, to Sandra Martinez for organizing the transportation, bus drivers Danny Romero and Antonio who took care of us and Mr. Honorio Salazar for helping us during the games in Eco,” said Cavaller in an email. “Thanks to the supporters and parents!”