Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press
As the regular season comes to a close, the New Mexico Military Institute Colt soccer team is getting closer to capturing another district title.
On Tuesday evening, the Colts defeated the Hot Springs Tigers 9-1 at Stapp Parade Field to extend their winning streak to six games.
NMMI, which enters the week ranked No. 3 in Class A/3A on MaxPreps, has one district game remaining at Hatch on Thursday at 5 p.m.
“We’re looking to finish this out and hopefully remain undefeated in district play,” said NMMI head coach John Barbour. “That’s the goal we set for ourselves. It’s not going to be easy.”
The Colts (13-3-1, 5-0) got on the board with a goal by John Zimmerman in the first half.
He later found the back of the net once more to make the score 2-0 on an assist by Mina Lipets.
Luis Medina extended the lead to 3-0 with a goal later on.
Off an assist by Ben Zimmerman, Alan Cordova added to the early offensive spree with a goal.
Trailing 4-0, the Tigers got on the board when Ethan Kalminson dribbled his way through two defenders to find the back right corner of the net.
Jose Perez notched the final goal of the first half, giving the Colts a 5-1 lead at the break.
To start the second half, Perez tallied his second goal of the game, coming off an assist by Ben Zimmerman.
Lipets later found the back of the net to make the score 7-1.
The Zimmerman brothers scored the final two goals of the game. John Zimmerman finished with the hat trick.
Ben Zimmerman finished with four assists while Lipets had two.
A win Thursday will help NMMI win the District 3-A/3A title for the third straight year.
“We just got to play our game. We rested a few guys tonight,” Barbour added. “It’s going to be needed because Thursday’s not going to be an easy game at all. Hatch is no joke.
“They took us to overtime, but I know we can play a lot better.”