Socorro Warriors Soccer Club players and coaches smile after winning gold medals.
Courtesy photo

Socorro’s youth soccer team swept the AYSO United High Desert Stampede tournament, coming home with a gold medal.

The youth boys team, Socorro Warriors Soccer Club, is made up of 8 to 11-year-olds. The majority of their team is 9 to 10 years old, and they competed against 11 to 12-year-olds in the recent Albuquerque tournament.

The team played four games in the tournament. In the championship game, they came in a little overconfident, said coach Christopher Olguin, and were behind 2-0 by the second half. But they were able to turn it around and make a comeback to win the championship with a final score of 4 to 2 against the Rio Rapids.

“We changed up our lineup and we had a good halftime talk and just brought the kids back down to their level and put the fear of losing in their eyes,” said Olguin. “We worked that hard to get there, we’re not going to get that far only to lose.”

The AYSO team is almost a year old and starting to get more recognition, said Olguin.

“The kids came out and proved all their hard work and dedication over the past few weeks and their growth is exponential in the past year, as players and as individuals.”

The goal of the team is to provide more opportunities for young Socorro athletes and to get Socorro back on the map for AYSO soccer. The program has a new board that is working with the city to host more soccer tournaments and events.

The AYSO fall season will begin in a month, so the team is working hard to prepare for the fall.

“If there’s any kids out there interested in a travel program or playing locally, we’re really trying to kick things up with our coaching. We’re really trying to make a big wave with our AYSO program here in Socorro,” said Olguin.

The team fee is just $20 for a year, which is unusual for a club team.

Olguin said he wants to recognize the hard work of coaches Seth Rodriguez and Kader Bhasker, and parent volunteer Jesus Sierra.

Cathy Cook | El Defensor Chieftain Editor