The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate soccer team picked up another win and another loss over the last week, falling 4-0 to Alamosa on the road on April 11, and then defeating Bayfield 3-2 at home on April 15.
The Lady Pirates were originally scheduled to face off against Lake County on April 12, but coach Trevor Gian explained that the match was rescheduled due to field issues and a lack of officials.
The Lady Pirates are now scheduled to take on the Lake County Panthers in Leadville this Friday, April 18, at 3 p.m.
In their match against Alamosa, Gian explained the Lady Pirates fell behind early, with Alamosa bagging its first goal in the opening minute of the first half.
Gian mentioned the Lady Pirates are still trying to “dial in” their formation, noting the team took a more defensive approach against Alamosa.
He added, “There’s a lot of good things, for sure, defensively.”
Gian also noted that despite the score, the Lady Pirates had quality play from “quite a few players,” specifically highlighting Morgan Galloway’s and Sophia Sottek’s roles as outside fullbacks.
“They did a good job against that team,” Gian said.
He also mentioned that Alamosa is a “good team” with lots of “pace” on its wings.
Gian highlighted Addison Johnson’s performance, as well, explaining she took on a more defensive center back position and helped “slow things down.”
Gian also spoke about the Lady Pirates’ communication with one another on the field, explaining it’s “getting better every week,” as he has asked the team’s captains to step up and initiate more communication.
He explained the team is building up more chemistry and the “players are responding to it.”
The Lady Pirates trailed 3-0 after the first half.
“At times we played really, really well,” Gian said, noting the Lady Pirates were able to slow down Alamosa’s wing play at times.
“I thought our outside mids did really well,” he added.
Gian highlighted freshman Ellie Vining, who played the entire game and was able to cut off Alamosa’s passing lanes.
“She did really well,” he added.
Gian also mentioned the Lady Pirates were able to maintain “good stretches of possession” at times, which is something the team has been focusing on throughout the season.
Although Gian described the match against Alamosa as a “tough environment,” he noted the Lady Pirates were able to create a couple chances offensively by getting in behind Alamosa’s back line and were just missing a “quality finish.”
He noted that if the Lady Pirates can find ways to capitalize on their counter-attacking chances in these kinds of matches, they should be able to “stay in a tight game.”
Pirate goalkeeper Keira Davis logged a total of 19 saves on the day.
Additional stats were not available as of press time Wednesday.
The Lady Pirates picked up their first Intermountain League (IML) win of the season Tuesday, defeating Bayfield 3-2 at home.
“Really nice to get a win against Bayfield there at home,” Gian said, explaining the Lady Pirates tied Bayfield twice last season and have not been able to beat them in a couple years.
He noted the result was good for the team in showing the players they are “capable of winning tight games against quality opponents.”
After a quality start for the Lady Pirates controlling possession and creating multiple scoring opportunities within the first 20 minutes, Bayfield was able to snag a goal from a free kick to take the lead, Gian explained.
“We fought back,” he said, explaining that Elizabeth Currier was able to tie the game at 1-1 with a “breakway goal.”
Tatiana Monterroso then put the Lady Pirates up 2-1 with a “shot off the outside of the foot,” and Hailey Sams added a third goal, beating the Bayfield goalkeeper on a near-post shot to give the Lady Pirates a 3-1 lead at halftime, Gian explained.
Gian praised the Lady Pirates’ defensive effort in the first half by not giving up a “true quality look” other than the free kick.
“It looked good for awhile,” he said, noting the team was building momentum.
Gian explained that Bayfield put pressure on the Lady Pirates’ defense in the second half, eventually being awarded a penalty kick for a handball in the box.
Bayfield converted the penalty to bring the score to 3-2.
“Bayfield stuck in it,” Gian added.
He went on to mention the Lady Pirates “dropped fundamentals” a little bit toward the end of the match, “but they put themselves in a position to win it and they won it, and, I mean, that’s really, really awesome — something to be proud of.”
Sams and Currier each had three shots on goal, each converting one. Monterroso scored off her only attempt on goal, while Terriana Cage logged one shot on goal.
Cage and Sams each recorded one assist on the day, while Davis notched nine saves.
Gian mentioned the Lady Pirates are moving forward with some confidence after the win against Bayfield as they prepare for another round of three games this weekend and into next week.
“People are stepping into roles,” he added.
Following their match against Lake County tomorrow, the Lady Pirates will be on the road again, heading to Cortez on Saturday, April 19, to face the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers for a second time this season.
The Lady Pirates lost the first matchup by a score of 3-0.
Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.
The Lady Pirates will then face off against the Ignacio Bobcats, also for the second time this season, at home on Tuesday, April 22, at 4 p.m.
The Lady Pirates defeated Ignacio in the first matchup of the season by a score of 9-2 and currently sit in third place of the IML.
clayton@pagosasun.com
