The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate soccer team fell to 2-3 after two shutout losses last week.
The Lady Pirates traveled to Telluride on Thursday, April 2, and lost 5-0. They then hosted the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers on Saturday, April 4, and lost 4-0.
Despite the two lopsided results, coach Trevor Gian indicated he is really proud of the team and feels that they’re really growing with each game and have a chance to come out of this week an even stronger team.
“We’re picking each other up, we’re doing that stuff you can’t really teach that we’ve got to find naturally,” Gian said. “We found [that] over those games, and I’m excited for the future.”
Going into the game against Telluride, Gian told his team that the Miners are a quality opponent and they were going to play fast and physical.
The Lady Pirates had an opportunity to score early in the game and go up 1-0, but just missed wide on a shot and the game stayed equal. The Miners were able to net three goals by the end of the first half after the Lady Pirates’ early miss.
Still, Gian noted he felt like the girls were playing good soccer and had a chance in the second half.
The Miners scored two early goals in the second half, though, and the Lady Pirates weren’t able to find the back of the net, dropping the matchup 5-0.
“I was absolutely impressed with how we stayed on that field, how we contended, how we fought for each ball, how we looked to make passes, how we looked for through balls, how we met things in the middle,” Gian said.
Gian emphasized that he felt the girls played really well for 60 of the 80 minutes in the game.
The Lady Pirates had five shots in the game, with four being on goal.
The Miners, who are now 4-4-1 on the season, sit as the No. 20 team in 2A girls’ soccer.
On Saturday, the score once again did not necessarily reflect the type of game that was played, noted Gian.
The Lady Pirates lost the game 4-0, but didn’t concede a goal until the last 15 minutes of the game.
Gian emphasized that the Lady Pirates played really impressive soccer up until the last 15 minutes of the game, when the girls just ran out of gas.
“I was ecstatic with the effort,” he said. “I mean, we got tired at the end, [but we] fought with them.”
The Lady Pirates had one shot on goal in the game.
The Panthers, who are now 4-1, are the No. 7 team in 3A girls’ soccer.
This week, the No. 37 Lady Pirates will look to get back in the win column over the course of a trio of games.
The Lady Pirates will be in action at home on Thursday, April 9, against No. 26 Alamosa (3-2) beginning at 4 p.m.
On on Saturday, April 11, the team will hit the road to take on 2A No. 33 Lake County (1-4) at 11 a.m.
The Lady Pirates will continue to play on the road on Tuesday, April 14, when they take on No. 38 Bayfield (2-3) beginning at 4 p.m.
Gian noted he expects the Lady Pirates to stay compact on defense in order to cut off through balls, play with shape in order to possess the ball and not rely solely on counterattacks, as well as just slowing the game down.
“We’re finding out who we are,” he said. “That’s a beautiful thing because then we can build off of that with some tactics. But knowing that [we have] heart and fight and we’re playing for each other on that field [is huge].”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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