Shannon Mestas’ 60th-minute penalty kick left Sarah Berlinger no chance.
Selected by head coach Oscar Cosio to go 1-v-1 with Alamosa’s goalkeeper, in hopes of getting the four-year regular a goal on Senior Day – also the last event to be held on IHS Field’s grass before synthetic-surface installation began this week – the Lady Bobcats’ oft-physical defender denied Berlinger a chance to replicate Krissy Velasquez’s stop on senior Amanda Martinez in the 52nd.
Because, unfortunately, the try was no threat.
Mestas, who admittedly approached the ball with knees shaky over the opportunity, and who’d unfortunately cleated Moose junior striker Tayleur Hillis’ face–resulting in her exit from the 3A Southwestern match April 26 – in the 32nd, toed the ball well wide of Berlinger’s right.
Ending Ignacio’s best chance in a 7-0 loss to the SWL’s leaders.
Hillis netted the winning goal only eight minutes in, and marked again in the 13th – after sophomore Darby Bolt struck in the 10th – to put AHS up 3-nil at intermission, and sophomore Megan Gallegos’ second-half scores in the 46th and 73rd sandwiched junior Taylor Nye’s [47’, 66’] two as Alamosa, coming off a loss at 4A Pueblo County, put an incredible 50 shots into the windy, wintry La Plata County air.
Simply reminding IHS they were there, many of the attempts missed massively, but 32 did target Velasquez directly and the developing junior finished with 27 total [shot-based, and others out of necessity] saves. Berlinger, a sophomore, made three as Ignacio fired just four shots, three going on frame.
AHS (9-2-1, 9-1-0 SWL) out-cornered the Lady Cats (0-11, 0-11) ten to three, but Mestas’ post-match comments – as well as being the crux of her Senior Day halftime verbiage – stressed the importance of maintaining focus on one’s own effort rather than the final score during a tough match.
Ignacio had fallen 6-2 at Center the previous afternoon out at Center Community Park, but goals by senior Cheyenne Cook and sophomore Tristan Boone against the Lady Vikings gave the late-blooming Lady Cats at least one score in five of six matches prior to AHS’ visit.
IHS’ 2014 – and the prep careers of Mestas, Cook, Jasmine Red, Becca Ward, Gabriela Garcia, and Roshae Weaver – was to end at second-place Bayfield (9-3-0, 8-1-0) Tuesday, April 29, but results were unavailable by Drum’s deadline.