By Josh Franklin — Five Rockets scored, including goalkeeper Marcos Moreno on a late penalty kick, as Goddard beat Portales to close the regular season ahead of the playoffs.
“We need to win,” Goddard head coach Noel Montelongo said following the Rockets’ 7-2 loss to Lovington (7-7-4, 3-0-3 4A-4) on Oct. 20.
Two days later, the Rockets (6-12-2, 2-3-1) delivered, beating Portales (3-15-1, 0-6) 7-3 in their regular-season finale ahead of the playoffs.
“It was good to end on a better note,” Montelongo said. “Had me worried there for a little while, but man, Portales came out and gave us a good fight.”
The Rams struck first as Goddard struggled to capitalize on its chances, putting the Rockets in a familiar position. Portales also scored the opening goal in the teams’ Oct. 8 matchup before Goddard rallied for a 5-2 win.
This time, the Rockets answered with seven goals from five players, capped by an unlikely scorer in the final moments.
With Goddard holding a three-goal lead and the clock winding down, goalkeeper Marcos Moreno stepped up to take a penalty kick rather than defend one. Moreno found the back of the net for his first goal of the season, setting off a team celebration.
“He had asked me in other games if we ever get that opportunity, and I said, ‘okay, let’s go, man,’” Montelongo said about letting Moreno take the penalty.
Moreno became the fifth Rocket to score on the night, joining Erik Nunez, Luke Brackeen, Judah Cogdill and David Gonzalez on the score sheet.
“It was awesome to see,” Montelongo said. “We were getting shots on goal in the first half. … Then the second half, we came out and did what we needed to do.”
With the regular season complete, the Rockets now turn their attention to the playoffs, where Montelongo expects a road trip and a potential rematch.
“The way MaxPreps has us, we’re seeded at 14. So that means we’re gonna have to travel, and we’ll probably see one of the teams that we’ve played already,” Montelongo said. “Gadsden, Santa (Teresa), or Chaparral. I think it’s either one of them. … (We) took a loss on all three of those games. But it’d be tough. I think we can give somebody a game in the top five, whoever that is.”
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