Tigers soccer team edges out Moriarty
The Taos Tigers boys soccer team defeated the Moriarty Pintos 2-1 on Thursday (Oct. 20) on their home turf at Taos Eco Park.
Within the first 15 minutes of the match, Jeremiah Gonzalez had an opportunity to give Taos an early lead over the Pintos. Gonzalez had a half-step ahead of Moriarty defender Reese Thackerson, and needing to beat an offbalance goalkeeper in Isaac Dominguez, he launched the ball into the right corner of the net for a 1-0 Tiger lead.
The match was far from over, as Pinto Bruno Vaquera hit an equalizer in the second half to even the game at 1-1. The second goal for the Taos Tigers came through a long cross that bounced favorably towards Korlan Gibson, who was rewarded for his constant activity on the field with a ball that was begging to be tapped into goal. Gibson obliged with a simple tap-in for a critical finish in the closing minutes of the second half. Taos still had a few more minutes to defend and prevent Moriarty from tying and forcing overtime. At the end of the whistle, Taos hung on to that narrow lead to win it 2-1.
The victory against the Pintos puts the Tigers firmly in second place of the District 2 standings at 3-3 and gives Taos an overall record of 5-101 for the season.
After the match, coach Hafid Valencia spoke about the urgency needed to hold back the Pintos. “We knew we had to challenge. Last time, we came out a little scared,” he said. “We know what’s at stake. It’s going to state. We needed this win. It was do-ordie for us.”
On the tactical side of things, Valencia mentioned that “our wings came in clutch today. Korlan [Gibson] and Jeremiah [Gonzalez]. We’ve been practicing attacking through the wings. We knew that was their weak side and it ended up working for us.”
After losing to Bloomfield back in September, the Tigers’ form picked up with an even record of 4-4 from that point forward. The Tigers also scored 13 goals in that time compared to the 3 goals they scored in the first half of the season. The young Tiger squad will only lose senior defender Benjamin Currey and senior goalkeeper Xavier Duke for the 23-24 campaign next year.