Socorro's Baski Baker takes a shot in midair while teammate Gaetano Stanzione looks on, also in the air, during the Warriors' season opener against Belen. Photo by Polo C' de Baca/For the Mountain Mail
Their season opener with the Belen Eagles on Thursday, Aug. 28, went from a rout to a second-half battle as Socorro saw a three-goal halftime lead dwindle to one. The Warriors prevailed, 5-4.
Defensive lessons learned in that game showed through as the Warriors got a 2-1 win over the Santa Fe Prep Griffins in overtime Saturday.
“We worked some different things out in our (defensive) formations,” Socorro coach Paul Wilkie said.
Socorro and Santa Fe Prep played less than two minutes of overtime. Senior Baski Baker went streaking along the right sideline and passed to Reid, who was in perfect position in front of the goal. Santa Fe Prep’s goalie was out of position and Reid fired a perfectly timed shot to end the game.
“I don’t quite remember how it happened,” Baker said. “I just got the ball on the sideline, tossed it into Josh and he put it in. Lucky pass, I guess. ”
In the Belen game, Socorro led 4-1 at the half but was outscored 3-1 in the second half.
“I want to say Santa Fe Prep is the better team than Belen,” Wilkie said. “They’re going to be in the top four or five in the state for 3A, I think.”
Assistant coach Michael Olguin Jr. had a similar take on the trouble the Warriors had in the second half against Belen.
“A couple of guys are getting used to their new roles,” Olguin said. “Frustration led to more miscommunication, however you want to put it, but a win is a win. We’ll take that win, but the idea is to get the miscommunication out of our system now.”
Socorro scored its last goal with 17:56 remaining. Josh Reid caught Belen’s goalie out of position and rolled the ball into the net to extend the Warrior lead to 5-2.
Belen closed the gap to 5-3 shortly after that and scored again with three minutes left.
“Our midfield didn’t control the ball very well, I can easily say that,” Wilkie said. “When our midfielders don’t control the ball, the defense is struggling.”
“My hats off to Belen,” Wilkie said. “They came back and made a game out of it.”
Defeating Santa Fe Prep was visibly therapeutic for the Socorro boys and their coaches.
“We have real offensive firepower with Baski (Baker) and Josh (Reid), but we’re trying to get used to new midfielders,” Olguin said. “We had opportunities, but they just had an excellent keeper. I give credit to them.”
The Griffins scored first and led 1-0 halfway into the first half. Less than two minutes later, Baker tied the game. Socorro had six shots on goal and Santa Fe had three to finish out the first half.
In the second half, Socorro continued to dictate the tempo and control possession. The Warriors had 17 shots on goal up to the time that 2:00 showed on the clock.
“For the most part we did a good job, except our finishing,” Wilkie said, “Santa Fe Prep’s keeper is excellent. That kid is very, very good. I’d give him an all-state vote right now.”
Socorro goalie Kenneth DeCosta also did an excellent job.
“Big Kenny, our goalie, stepped up,” Wilkie said.
The Warriors will be at a tournament in Roswell on Friday.
