KIRTLAND – Kirtland Central goalkeeper Nathan Tom came up big in the second half, making some tough saves and preserving a slim lead on their way to a 2-1 victory Thursday night over Montezuma-Cortez at Bill Cawood Field.
For the Broncos, the win extends their current win streak to three in a row and second victory in less than a week over the Panthers, who dropped a 5-4 decision in tournament action last Saturday. Kirtland Central improves to 4-4 on the season with a match at home against Moriarty on Saturday before opening their District 1-4A campaign next week.
“It’s a huge win for all of us as we head into district,” said Kirtland Central head coach Chad Kimball. “I told them all last week how important it was to go into district with a winning streak so hopefully we can take care of business.”
The Panthers got on the board first, scoring in the 25th minute of the first half when Abner Garcia put a shot past Tom into the lower left corner of the net. Montezuma-Cortez and Kirtland Central traded some strong shots on goal in the first half, with the Broncos getting the equalizer nine minutes later in a great shot off the foot of Noah Warner.
| TEAM | 1st | 2nd | FINAL |
| Panthers | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Broncos | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Warner was battling a pair of Panthers defenders as he turned the corner to the right of the goal. With keeper Samson Lein playing just a bit in front of the net, Warner fired a ground shot past Lein to tie the match at 1-1.
“I have no idea how he snuck that in,” Kimball said of Warner’s goal. “ I probably wouldn’t have taken that shot, but I’m sure glad he did. He was on fire tonight.”
The score remained even until the 13th minute of the second half when Brandon Lacey fired a penalty kick to the left of Lein, who blocked the shot away before it caromed off and spun into the back of the net, giving Kirtland Central the lead for the first time in the match.
Both teams again traded goal-scoring opportunities in the remaining minutes, with Tom coming up big on a save of a penalty kick from Atticus Keel in the 27th minute. Lein was under duress for much of the second half, particularly from Kirtland Central’s Angel Acosta, who just missed extending the Broncos lead inside the final five minutes of the match.
“(Lein) has played great against some of the best in our region and he did a terrific job for us tonight,” said Panthers head coach Juan Soto.
The loss drops Montezuma-Cortez to 2-7 overall. The Panthers, losers of three straight games, will open the 3A Intermountain Soccer League campaign on Saturday, Sept. 28 at home against Alamosa.
“Both teams had a great game and we needed this kind of game,” Soto said. “It was a physical, emotional game and just what we needed before we open the conference games.”
