NMMI Sports Press

Playing on Day 2 of the Coyote Classic soccer tournament, NMMI won its opener against Portales 3-1 and then fell to Lovington 5-3 in the afternoon matchup.

In the morning, Portales took a 1-0 lead, but Luis Tzintzun tied it up just before the half to give NMMI the momentum heading into the break.

The Colts used that momentum to score two more goals: one by Jordanyol Bayonne-Kenol and the other off the boot of Daniel Person to give the Institute the 3-1 victory.

Coach John Barbour liked the way his team came out to play.

“We had a strong start this morning," he said. "We started out the game a little slow, but we picked up the pace and had an overall strong match by scoring three goals. We have not been scoring as of late, so it was good to see some shots go in the back of the net.”

The win gave the Colts a match-up with former district foe Lovington in the second game of the day. The Wildcats scored twice on the Institute before NMMI answered with a goal from Tzintzun to make the score 2-1 'Cats. Lovington scored one more before half to go up 3-1.

After the break, the Colts scored two quick goals: the first from Bayonne-Kenol and the second one from Andres Bleizeffer to tie the game at 3-3. But the Wildcats came back to score two goals late in the half to take the victory 5-3.

Barbour liked the effort his guys showed on the pitch during the tournament.

“I think they ran out of energy in the second half," he said. "We played four matches in three days, but one thing I will give these guys is they will play to the final whistle. They do not quit.”

The next match for the Colts will be in Artesia Tuesday at 6 p.m..