KIRTLAND, N.M. – Casually admitting to sideline media he’d made “some mistakes” during Tuesday’s road match at Bill Cawood Field, Bayfield senior defender Tristan French wasted little time making amends.
Cutting short the howdy-do when play was reversed to his side of the field, French received a pass and shifted into fourth gear. Racing undeterred into the offensive end, French surprised sophomore Asher Madonna with his speedy arrival and survived a near-collision with his teammate.
Falling to the ground, French rolled over the ball while not grazing it with his arms as he pushed himself upright, then played a crossing pass away from a Kirtland Central defender to a waiting Willy Roca. With a straight-on view of the net, the Spanish senior beat Kirtland’s keeper in the 62nd minute – completing a hat trick and increasing visiting Bayfield’s lead to 4-1 en route to a 5-1 victory.
Punctuated in the 75th by a similar French sideline sprint and subsequent cross to goal scorer Shaw Foster, the win Tuesday was the first for the Wolverines, which had dropped 27 consecutive contests since blanking Bloomfield 4-0 inside Wolverine Country Stadium on Oct. 13, 2018.
“Yeah, it’s been awhile,” said veteran head coach Chris Zoltowski. “Been a frustrating couple of years, and it’s nice to see the boys who are left are still willing to fight. It gives them hope, and lets them know there are still people out there that will invest time into them and won’t just drop off.”
Pressuring the Broncos (1-7, 0-0 NMAA Dist. 1-4A) throughout the first half, Bayfield broke through in the eighth minute when Roca took a French pass and ripped a rocket that Central’s keeper couldn’t clutch.
The excitement was short-lived, however. Kirtland junior Kyler Joe equalized in the 14th by intercepting a Shae Railsback clearing pass, dribbling it back toward Wolverine keeper Gavin Davis’ left, and shooting as Bayfield’s Andy Monger pulled him down.
And despite Bayfield (1-2, 0-0 CHSAA 3A Southwestern) gaining six corners, the score remained 1-1 going into halftime.
“Started out a little sluggish,” Zoltowski said. “You know, it’s tough when you’ve got the heat (mid-90s temperatures allowed a short water break during each half) and getting your mindset right after being on the bus. But they started to pick it up.”
Roca snapped the tie in the 54th, converting a Madonna assist, and sophomore Lance Mitchell increased the lead to 3-1 in the 58th, drilling an upper-90 shot past the Broncos goalie after Gavin Larson’s initial shot ricocheted to Mitchell, who stood near the elbow of the 18-yard box at his right.
“Gavin … he took a shot and probably would have scored it, but it bounced off the referee,” Zoltowski said, “so Lance had the shot. Not sure if you’d actually call that an assist, but …”
But with 3A Southwestern League action set to start this weekend, Bayfield wasn’t about to dismiss a gift. The Wolverines’ circuit slate begins at 5:15 p.m. Friday at struggling Montezuma-Cortez (0-5, 0-1 SWL).
“I think this is really a blessing to be able to have a good win right before we go into our league season. The guys know they can score, they’re hungry to score – they’re starting to learn the process of moving as a team,” Zoltowski said. “I’m really excited about going into league with the momentum that we have.”
