There were five goals in the first half of Montezuma-Cortez’s home soccer game against Bayfield on Tuesday.
And Panthers junior Manny Martinez was responsible for three of them.
Colton Fine scored an early goal for the Wolverines off a sideline throw-in to give Bayfield a 1-0 lead, but Martinez struck back in less than a minute by getting by the goal keeper – with a ball that may have been pushed in by a defender – to knot the score at one apiece.
Martinez showcased his speed again in the 25th minute by blowing by Bayfield defenders on his way to his second score, with senior Matthew Fuentes assisting.
Shortly after, keeper Nate Baker stopped a Bayfield shot, but Wolverines freshman Berman Abdallah-Boehm punched in a score off the rebound to even the game again.
With each Bayfield goal, Martinez answered.
His third goal in the 27th minute was remarkably similar to his first two.
Taking a pass from the assisting sophomore Kolby Waltman, Martinez outran Bayfield’s defense and worked the ball by the goalie to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead heading into halftime.
The Panthers controlled the tempo – and the ball – for most of the second half, but in the 63rd minute, Bayfield sophomore Tilden Berriman found the back of the net to tie the game, 3-3.
M-CHS had its fair share of opportunities in the final half.
Junior Skyler Yarbrough put up a beautiful shot that was erased by a great save by Bayfield’s keeper, and later, Yarbrough narrowly missed a breakaway attempt wide-left.
The Panthers were also unable to convert on a cross by senior Andrew Laymon, with Martinez’s header landing in the hands of Bayfield’s goalie.
But with less than three minutes left in regulation, Laymon made a sideline throw into Martinez, who passed the ball to the middle of the field for junior Jesus Ruiz, who finished it off to give M-CHS a 4-3 lead with little time remaining.
For added security, Laymon tacked on another goal a minute later off a Martinez assist to give the Panthers a 5-3 lead. The score held, and the 5-3 win pushed the Panthers’ record to 2-8 on the year.
“Overall, our back three did really well today,” said head coach Sean Fitzgerald. “We had fewer mistakes than normal.”
Fitzgerald spoke of how mistakes have plagued the Panthers this season, and even with a 5-3 victory, they weren’t perfect.
“I think, again, it comes down to the fact that we play five minutes really well and two really not,” Fitzgerald said. “And those two minutes we got caught a lot. Luckily, Bayfield didn’t capitalize on some of our mistakes today.”
The Panthers got a break from conference play for a matchup with Bloomfield on Thursday, then are back in league play in a home game against Crested Butte on Saturday, Oct. 9.
“We have to put 80 minutes of soccer together,” Fitzgerald said when speaking of their upcoming games. “We haven’t done it yet this season.”
