The boys' Pirate soccer team of Grants High School bested two teams within 24 hours to get into the Saturday night championship against the defending state champions Bosque.  Mid-Fielder Landon Chavez scored the only goal in the first game against Aztec on Aug. 21. That victory gave them a shot at the Gallup Bengals the next day at an 11 a.m. game.

Members of the Grants High School Soccer team celebrate after taking second place in the Gallup Tournament. The Pirates were bested by defending state champions Bosque Bobcats 2-0 in the championship game played on Aug. 22.BEACON / ROMERO

The Pirates and Bengals were both scoreless at the end of the first half of play. A spark was needed to overcome the malaise on the field and a halftime talk was just the ticket.  When asked about the second half performance by his team, Head Coach Mike Hatfield commented, “The boys definitely came out firing on all cylinders.” Chavez, who was shut out the first half, scored two goals within the first three minutes of the second half, making the score 2-0 and giving the Pirates the lead. The Pirates then struck a third time. Seth Gordan kicked in the third goal for the Pirates. Grants 3-0'd the Bengals and for the first time in recent memory neither Gallup nor Rehoboth were in the championship game.  It would be the Pirates and Bosque that evening for first time ever in the Gallup Tournament  for Grants.

The Pirates played tenacious defense, however, defending state champions Bosque Bobcats prevailed 2-0 in the championship game. Captain and goal keeper Andy Eaton was content in knowing that all the work they had put in over the summer was paying off as technical and tactical plays worked well. Eaton went on to say, “As a captain I am proud to say that we are not intimidated by any teams.” Coach Hatfield was very content with his teams play and stated, “This was a fantastic tournament for us.”  He went on to say, “This is the first trophy for Grants High School in the sport of soccer.” The Pirates received a second place finish this year, a notable improvement over last year when they took fifth in this same tournament. The Pirate offense was led by Chavez who had three goals for the weekend.

Lady soccer

The lady Pirate soccer squad participated in the Socorro Tournament over the weekend and were 1-2 overall. They beat Valencia 3-1 on Aug. 21 with goals by Kaylee Stewart, Haili Emerson and Joie Griego. The following day the Pirate squad fell to Socorro 1-4 with the lone goal made by sophomore Brittney Ford.  The third and final game pitted the Pirates against district Rival Belen where the Pirates were scoreless though key breakdowns in defense allowed goals to be scored.  The Pirates fell to Belen 0-2.  Head Coach Leonard Gallegos said, “ I was surprised how some of the eighth graders stepped it up.”