Getting two goals from junior Preslie Wagner and one from sophomore Sydney Rey, plus a header finish from sophomore Tanna Owens, the Bayfield High School girls soccer team produced enough offensively to outlast visiting Alamosa on Saturday, 4-3.
Wagner, Rey, Owens and junior Genesis Barrera also logged one assist apiece. BHS’ damage, producing a 4-1 lead through the first 40-minute half, however, almost ended up being inflicted too quickly.
Having seen in great detail the who's and hows of Bayfield’s attack, the Mean Moose fought back after intermission, cutting the final margin down to a single goal.
Sophomores Lexany Heredia and Noemi Lemus each scored once for AHS, as did freshman Jayden Wubben. Senior Annahi Molina was credited with an assist, but classmate Abby Wubben, who’d registered two goals in a 6-2 home win over Pagosa Springs the previous afternoon, was held scoreless.
Opposing Bayfield junior goalkeeper McKenna Noonan, who made nine saves in the game, AHS sophomore Emily Tibbitts was credited with six saves in defeat. Junior Kacey Hillis also saw time in net and was credited with two stops.
Having improved to 3-1 overall and 3-0 in the 3A Southwest League, the Wolverines – awakened by a 5-0 loss April 6 at nonleague 3A Salida – were set to host Pine River Valley rival Ignacio on Tuesday. Alamosa (3-3, 1-2) was scheduled to welcome nonleague Crested Butte (5-4), ranked No. 7 in Class 2A. Results, however, were unavailable at press time.
Before traveling to Bayfield on Tuesday, Ignacio at last played its first of three scheduled matches against Montezuma-Cortez on Friday.
Arriving at M-CHS in search of their first positive result in 2023, the Bobcats battled the Panthers almost evenly throughout the first half, which ended with the home side leading 1-0 after a late goal.
“I felt like most of the game it was their offense playing our defense,” said Ignacio head coach Alisha Gullion. “But our defense was holding it down.”
As the rescheduled match wore on and its physicality increased, however, Ignacio unfortunately broke down. During one second-half instance, Gullion said, senior Autumn Sage, sophomore Ollyvia Howe and freshman Alyssa Atencio were all sidelined by injuries, and senior Alexis Ortiz joined them briefly after being yellow-carded for her response to a shove in her back.
While Gullion was deciding to how rearrange her formation, with Ortiz coming to the bench and requiring replacement, play suddenly resumed. And before the ’Cats (0-4, 0-2 2A Intermountain-South) really knew what hit them, Montezuma-Cortez swiftly pushed forward and scored one of their three second-half goals – producing a 4-0 victory.
Wasting no time capitalizing upon their success, the Panthers then defeated PSHS 2-1 in overtime Saturday to improve to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the 3A SWL; the Pirates slipped to 0-6, 0-3.
After facing Bayfield, Ignacio will return to M-CHS on Saturday, then host the Panthers on April 20.
“It was a rough, physical game,” Gullion said. “But we saw what they look like, so we’ll be ready for them this Saturday.”
