NMMI Sports Press
The Colt Varsity Soccer team exploded for 10 goals Tuesday and kept the visiting Hot Springs Tigers off the scoreboard to win their fourth-straight match and move to 7-5 on the year.
It was also the second district win for the Colts, who defeated Ruidoso 2-1 on the road Saturday. NMMI is tied with Hatch Valley atop the standings at 2-0.
Among the players that impressed NMMI head coach John Barbour during the game were junior forward Santiago Perez, junior fullback Zackary Ezra and the defense as a whole.
“I liked that our forward, Perez, was checking back to the ball, instead of just running toward the goal,” Barbour said. “He was checking into space and then looking to play the ball to the outside, and using angles. His runs were good, he was ending up on the outside instead of constantly in the middle. I thought he played really well.”
“Zack played great at fullback, being an option, moving up and being a threat while still playing defense. That’s not easy to do, but he’s able to do it and then get back. I think our center backs played a good game. The entire defense played really well, opening up and being an option for the people with the ball.”
Barbour was also happy to see his lone female varsity player, senior Nickole Mendez, get plenty of playing time in an important match.
“It was great watching Nickole get some minutes and really play a lot,” he said. “She had an assist on a goal, she was able to take the ball, take another touch, then pass, over and over. We’re one of the few, along with Hot Springs, that has girls on our roster and playing with the boys only helps their game. If they go back to playing with girls, the game slows down for them because they are accustomed to the faster pace.”
Barbour was especially happy with his team’s progress on offense, which the Colts have struggled with, scoring just 13 goals combined in the other 12 games (two of those games were forfeit wins).
“We’ve got to get good shots and we have to finish,” Barbour said. “And that’s kind of what we we’re working on today, and we did well. The last goal was a header with the sun in Mason Hick’s face, not easy to do, so kudos to him for finishing that. We put ourselves in good positions to score and that’s good to see.”
Hot Springs wasn’t able to produce too many good chances to score, but they did launch a few long balls that made Barbour a little nervous when his goalkeeper played them a bit nonchalantly.
“He was trying to give me grey hairs,” said Barbour. “He was joking with me after the game, asking if he scared me. I’m always scared. After doing this as many years as I have, I’ve seen so many balls go through a goalkeepers hands when they think they have it. Any high ball makes me nervous.”
Barbour praised his opponents for their tenacity and their progress as a program that was restarted in 2019 after nearly a decade of dormancy.
“This team has gotten so much better and I have a lot of respect for them,” he said. “They have some guys with some skill and some nice wins this year. They are doing it the right way and they will be a force to contend with.”
Up next, the Colts travel to Socorro to take on the 2-9 (0-2) Warriors in a A/3A-District 3/4 matchup. After that, NMMI travels to Hatch to take on the Hatch Valley Bears who are currently tied atop the district with the Colts at 2-0.
“We’re not going to overlook the next one,” Barbour said. “I don’t see Socorro giving us an inch. They always put up a fight. And Hatch is having a great season. When we get into that one, it’s going to be really tough. As I’ve explained to the team, we’ve got to use these games as building blocks to get better each time out.”