The Montezuma-Cortez soccer season got off to a rough start on Saturday at Johnson Field.
Hosting the Delta Panthers (1-0, 0-0 Western Slope League) the Panthers of M-CHS (0-1, 0-0 Southwest Soccer League) were bested in nearly every aspect en route to an 8-0 loss in their season opener.
Delta controlled the ball early, but M-CHS kept the visiting Panthers scoreless for the first 17 minutes of the contest.
But then, 18 minutes in, Delta pushed up into the box causing confusion, eventually finding the back of the net for the game’s first goal.
Four minutes later Delta was back in striking distance. And although freshman goalkeeper Davian Robinson deflected an initial shot on goal, the visitors punched it in off the rebound to take a 2-0 lead.
Things snowballed from there as Martin Corral tacked on another goal off a pass that crossed through the box, and later, Luis Meraz scored on a breakaway to send Delta to the half with a 4-0 lead.
Delta continued to pour it on in the second half, scoring in the first minute of play to extend the lead to five. The visiting Panthers spread the field and were precise with their passes and cuts, providing ample opportunities.
And they capitalized on many of them, getting another goal from Anders Schoppe on a wide open look in front of the net seven minutes into the second to go up 6-0.
M-CHS got decent looks midway through the second.
First, on a give-and-go from Jesus Ruiz to Manny Martinez and back, but Ruiz’s shot was denied. And then on a corner kick, when Ruiz put a ball in the mix that was nearly knocked in by Skyler Yarbrough.
However, Delta goalkeepers Marvin Guereque and Joseph Holiman combined for a shutout.
Delta’s Pedro Montes and Danny Mendoza each scored in the latter part of the second to round out the scoring, as Delta cruised to an 8-0 victory.
M-CHS head coach Sean Fitzgerald said he expected some mistakes during his team’s first game of the season. But he didn’t anticipate them leading to eight unanswered goals.
“We had some very, very big errors,” he said. “They’re a good team, but our side had very big errors. We need to work on defense for sure.”
And aside from a short flurry of attempts midway through the second, M-CHS’ scoring opportunities were rare.
“Offense wise, we didn’t have any,” Fitzgerald said. “We were sleeping, we weren’t there. So a lot of things are going back to the drawing board before Thursday.”
The Panthers will host Bloomfield on Thursday in their final contest before league play starts the following Tuesday against Bayfield.
Fitzgerald said that while his team has things they need to correct before then, he’s still confident in his squad’s abilities.
“I think it was an eye-opener for all of us,” he said. “Coaches and players. We’re just not there yet. But we will be there. Becaue this team, as a whole, is one of the best teams that I’ve had. So, terrible loss, but we’ll come back.”
