Lady Warriors outscore opponents 22–0, win Socorro Cup

The Socorro Lady Warriors hosted the Socorro Cup over the weekend and finished the tournament as the only undefeated team.

Socorro head coach Michael Olguin said Belen had to drop out of the tournament due to COVID-19 and there was a miscommunication between ATC and ATC’s athletic director so they did not show up to their games.

The Lady Warriors’ game against Grants was the only game that occurred Friday night as the other teams were unable to stay the night due to hotel costs or because of the state mandate on how far teams can travel for overnight trips.

There were supposed to be four games Friday night with eight on Saturday.

“Overall, we won because we were the only undefeated team but we made it work for the situation that was given to us,” Olguin said.

Throughout the weekend, the Lady Warriors faced Grants, Santa Teresa and Moriarty where they outscored their opponents 22-0.

Senior goalkeeper Chailynn Amaro said she didn’t realize she had three shutouts until after the tournament had concluded.

“I didn’t even realize until I got home and it was Sunday,” she said. “I didn’t even realize it until Sunday that I had a shutout. I feel like the adrenaline during the game, I don’t really pay attention to what is happening with me. I just want to push my team and get us to where we are.”

As a goalkeeper, Amaro said she slows down or picks up the pace of the game depending on if Socorro is winning or losing.

“I try and build them up so if I save a ball I’ll try and get them to pick up the pace or if we are winning like we were these games, I would slow down the pace, make sure everyone is in the right spot and then I would go and give them the ball back,” she said.

Over the weekend, Amaro yelled to her teammates where a pass was open or where they could cross the ball as she could see the whole field from the net.

Two of those players were seniors Lola Apodaca and Elise Madril who were the leading scorers in all three games. Madril and Apodaca finished the weekend with seven and five goals, respectively.

“It always feels good. I think it’s also good for the girls, being an upperclassman they get more of a role model so it gives them more of ‘they can do it too,’” Madril said about being a leading scorer.

The weekend started out with Socorro’s game against Grants where the Lady Warriors mercyruled them 10-0.

Senior Bryanda Leon scored the first three goals within 12 minutes of play from inside of the penalty box.

Sophomore Faith Lucero scored the remaining two goals in the first half around the 14 and 32 minute marks. Both goals were shot from outside of the penalty box to the top of the net.

Madril started off the scoring in the second half, adding two goals to the board to extend the Lady Warriors’ lead to seven. Socorro’s eighth goal of the game came from Apodaca as she shot the ball from inside the penalty box to the bottom left corner of the net.

Madril and Apodaca each had another goal from inside of the penalty box to the bottom of the net to end the game via a mercy rule.

Socorro’s first game on Saturday took place early in the morning where they defeated Santa Teresa 9-0.

Apodaca found the net early in the game to put the Lady Warriors on the board and then Madril extended Socorro’s lead with a shot to the bottom left side of the net.

Around the 38 minute mark, Lucero scored her only goal of the game from inside the penalty box.

In a span of two minutes, Apodaca and Madril added another goal each to give Socorro a 5-0 lead at the half. Apodaca scored via a shot from inside the penalty box to the bottom right corner when Santa Teresa’s goalie was out of the net. Madril’s goal came off of a free kick that she made in the top of the net. Madril scored the first two goals within 15 minutes in the second half from inside the penalty box to the bottom right side of the net.

Around the 36 minute mark of the second half, freshman Katia Prieto found the top of the net from inside of the penalty box. Four minutes later, senior Kilee Mounyo scored the Lady Warriors’ final goal of the game from close range to the top left side, making the score 9-0.

In the championship game, Socorro defeated Moriarty 3-0. Leon found the net first around the 30 minute mark in the first half with a shot from outside of the penalty box to the bottom right side of the net.

Socorro’s second goal came via a shot from senior Mia Tenorio after 25 minutes of play in the second half. She found the middle of the net from inside of the penalty box.

The final goal of the weekend came from Madril via a free kick on a foul from Apodaca.

“Those are always fun because it’s always Lola that gets fouled in that same exact spot and it always seems like it goes to that upper left corner every single time,” Madril said.

For Apodaca, she said it is very helpful having Madril on the field with her.

“It’s nice having both of us out there,” Apodaca said. “We can read each other’s minds sometimes because we understand the game so much more because we have so much more experience since we have been playing since we were in eighth grade.”

The Lady Warriors will face Clovis at noon on Saturday and their first home game will be at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, September 4 against St. Michael’s.