By Josh Franklin
The Goddard Rockets are trying to hold their playoff ground after a 7-2 loss to Lovington on Oct. 20.
“We were sitting at 14 before the NMMI (New Mexico Military Instituge) game, and when we tied them up, they moved us up to 12,” Goddard head coach Noel Montelongo said postgame. “This loss will probably put us back to 13 or 14, is my guess. So we need to come out with a win … against Portales, to stick (around) 12, 13. And if we do that, then we’re looking to play (the) seven, eight, or nine seed.”
The New Mexico Activities Association expanded the 4A and 5A soccer playoff brackets from 12 to 16 teams for 2026. The expansion gives the Rockets some breathing room after the loss but little comfort heading into their final game of the regular season.
Goddard sat at No. 12 in the 4A state rankings ahead of the game, but with wins from No. 13 Mayamura (15-5) and No. 14 Highland (6-10-3), the Rockets could slide.
On Oct. 15, the Rockets (5-12-2, 1-3-1 4A-4) completed a three-goal comeback against NMMI (12-4-3) to secure a draw. Against the Wildcats (7-7-4, 3-0-3), they couldn’t find another escape from an early deficit.
“It’s tough to come back when you’re down 4-1,” Montelongo said. “Needless to say, we had a couple of shots in the second half that would probably (have) made it a closer game than what it was. … But too many errors on our part. … We needed more attack, so sometimes you got to sacrifice attack for defense, and it just didn’t work out for us.”
The Rockets have one final chance to bounce back. A win gives them a more direct path to the playoffs, while a draw or loss leaves them needing more help from other results around 4A.
Montelongo’s message leaves little room for debate.
“We need to win.”
Share this story and start a conversation
