Academy loses to Hope 1-2 in over time.

On Thursday afternoon, the varsity boys soccer team took on Hope Christian in the first round of the Albuquerque Academy invitational.

After five games on the turf at the small APC Complex fields, the Academy boys were excited to return to real grass and the larger dimensions of Richard Harper Memorial Field. While watching the varsity girls put on a scoring clinic in a 4-1 win over Roswell, the boys were loose and confident.

Too loose and confident, as a young but talented and well coached Hope team outplayed the Academy in the first half. Hope had more one touch passing, speed in transitions, and ideas to get forward. They earned five corner kicks in the first half and continually looked dangerous. The Academy had moments as well. Early in the half, the Hope keeper rushed out and stuffed a point blank shot from Charles Touche ’17. With just under ten minutes left in the half, the Academy pushed forward again and the keeper came out again. It looked like a good chance but Hope cleared the ball, linked in transition with lightening speed, and had a breakaway one-on-one, slotting home the ball past Lucas Schlenzig ’18.

At halftime, the players were angry and frustrated. They had not played well.

The second half was a completely different game. Alex Touche ’17 and Hardy Stone ’18 dominated the middle of the field and Lucas Jepsen ’19 and Owen Keleher ’18 found multiple ways through on the wings, necessitating at least two more remarkable, one-on-one stuffs from the Hope keeper. Midway through the second frame, Lucas pushed forward, rounded the defensemen at the edge of the goal area and earned a corner kick. Alex headed home the resulting driven ball from Owen. Minutes later Owen and Mateo Centenera ’20 both had far post balls carry just beyond their sliding teammates.

While absolutely dominating play, the Academy could not dismiss the Hope attack which required some fine saves from Lucas. Nor could the Academy find the back of the net again. Regulation ended 1-1.

In the first overtime, the Academy pushed forward initially, but seemed to lose its determination. A loose ball bounced to a Hope midfielder and once again they quickly went on the attack, surging into the penalty box and drawing a foul. The Hope player laced home the shot from the penalty spot, ending the game. It was the first loss at home for the program since September 14^th, 2012.

After a strong start to the season, the Academy team has had their weaknesses exposed and there is an expanse of work in front of them if they want to fulfill their promise. Each year, the team picks a Latin phrase as a motto. This year, the players decided upon “Facta, non verba” or <<Deeds, not words>>. With one TV station doing a segment on the Academy prior to the tournament and another station with a camera on the sideline during the first half, there have been plenty of words about the team. The players’ work in practice and determination on the field needs to define the rest of the season.

The team next plays Bosque on the Library field at 2:00 today.