GRANTS, N.M. - The Grants High School boys soccer team will soon head into District games, and are all of a sudden looking like a team to be reckoned with.
The team recently tucked their first win under their belts against Gallup, 61, and after that, played Bloomfield to a tie. Add in the fact that the Pirates had a winnable game against Kirtland Central on Tuesday, September 15, and the team seems to have an optimistic outlook for the beginning of District play.
As of this year, two new teams, Albuquerque Academy and Hope Christian will join District 6-4A along with Grants, Belen and Valencia.
Captain Jakob Wills admits that the competition level goes considerably higher with the two new teams in the District.
“I personally think Academy and Hope being a part of our District now will be tough for us,” he said. “They are both top teams in 4A and have skill. They are a team that plays all year round and plays really good teams like Capital, Sandia Prep, Cleveland, St.Pius and Rio Grande, so we’ll have to be locked in.”
This season, though the team’s scores haven’t always pulled through in terms of victories, their recent win makes Wills and his teammates confident. For the matchup with Kirtland Central, the Pirates hoped for a different outcome from last year’s 2-1 loss to the Broncos.
Senior captain Antonio Perez felt good about things heading into that game, possibly because the Broncos’ team graduated two of their vital players.
“I feel confident that we can win, because we had a couple mistakes last time we played them,” Perez said. “The team has come together and improved in those mistakes so I think that we should come out with a positive result.”
After playing Kirtland Central, the GHS boys soccer team will host Miyamura on Thursday, September 17 then travel to Taos on Saturday, September 19.