Tigers get mixed results in soccer playoffs
Boys win, girls lose in first round of Championship Tournament
The Taos High School boys soccer team squared off against Goddard on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 26) in the first round of the 2021 Fuddruckers Boys Soccer State Championship Tournament and came out with a decisive 6-0 victory.
The Goddard Rockets (10-11 on the season) traveled to Taos as a 9 seed in the tournament. Taos, an 8 seed, was ready for them, rattling off two goals almost immediately. Though Goddard had a solid record over the regular season, their play had been inconsistent lately (they lost 5 of their last 7 games). Taos had a similar record during the regular season (9-9), but they had won 5 of their last 7 games.
The Tigers will look to carry their hot streak south to Lovington, where they will take on the number one ranked and number one seeded Lovington High School Wildcats. It probably won’t be an easy match, as the Wildcats lost only a single game during the regular season (a road loss to Roswell on Sept. 21). But THS will lean on the legs of lead scorer Pol Cavaller and trust in the abilities of goalkeeper Xavier Duke, who has only allowed one goal since Oct. 2.
For the full schedule and matchup details, see B2.
For more details, visit nmact.
org.
Tigers girls lose to Goddard
In a strange turn of events, the Tigers girls soccer team also found themselves facing off against the Goddard High School Wildcats in the first round of the 2021 Fuddruckers Girls Soccer State Championship Tournament. This time the Tigers met the Wildcats in Goddard. In the Soccer State Championship Tournament, the first three rounds take place at the home field of the higher seeded team.
The Tigers went in as an 11 seed, with a 10-7-1 (2-3-1 in district) record, but that included a two-game losing streak, and unfortunately the Tigers just weren’t able to recover. Goddard, on the other hand, came in with a 10-11 (5-1 in district) record, but riding a fivegame winning streak and buoyed by whispers of their “dark horse” status in the tournament.
The Wildcats exerted their dominance right away, grabbing a goal in the first moments of the game. By halftime, the Tigers were looking at a nearly insurmountable deficit of 4-0. The second half didn’t get better and two more goals finished off the hard-fighting Taos team.
Though the season didn’t end the way the Tigers hoped, they did put up some impressive numbers over the season, especially from senior leader Selina Bayles, who scored 23 goals this season.
The team will look ahead to next year and hope to build on the foundation established in a solid 2021 season.