Spartans' boys soccer put on second-half surge, blank Robertson 4-0

BERNALILLO — Tied 0-0 at halftime, head coach Larry Baca and his staff gave the Spartans boys soccer team a short but important mantra.

“Play your game.”

And in the second half, they did just that.

Bernalillo boys soccer defeated Robertson High School 4-0 on Monday afternoon, pulling away with a second-half surge to move to 7-4 on the season. The win extends what is now a six-game home winning streak for Baca and his team.

While the final score shows a blowout, it did not have the makings of one in the first half. Robertson entered the contest at 0-7 on the season, and they threw everything but the kitchen sink at Bernalillo to try and secure that first victory of the year.

The Cardinals controlled the tempo most of the first half, getting a couple of solid looks and shots on net. Senior goalkeeper Jeremy Alvarado managed the workload with a few saves and stayed active in goal.

Toward the end of the first half, Bernalillo’s attack started to find something. Andre Batres and Brandon Valdez put together a few runs, notching the Spartans’ first shots on goal of the day. But just as the momentum started to shift, the half came to a close.

It was clear that Bernalillo did not bring their best in the opening half, and the coaching staff addressed that. If there is such a thing as “trap games” in high school athletics, facing a hungry 0-7 team on a rainy Monday afternoon may be the exact definition.

The Spartans knew a loss to this Cardinals team would set them on the wrong path, with district play set to begin later in the week. But despite the struggles and frustrations early, Baca and Co. told their players to keep their composure.

Bernalillo just needed one play to find a spark and reignite the team. Enter Victor Vega. The Spartans’ leading scorer snuck past the Robertson backline in the opening minutes of the second half and buried one in the bottom corner. Clean sheet no more, Bernalillo had a 1-0 lead.

It felt as if the Vega goal had lifted a weight off the shoulders of Bernalillo as the defensive battle quickly turned into a Spartan shootout. Bernalillo would deposit another goal off a Robertson turnover just minutes after, making it 2-0.

Twenty minutes minutes into the half, Vega’s speed was once again on display. He blazed through the defense, making a dribble move around the keeper to find nothing but open turf and an empty net for his second goal and a 3-0 lead.

Vega, recording a goal in every game so far this year, has now hit the double-digit mark on the season. The senior striker’s multi-goal game also gives him three multi-score matches in Bernalillo’s last four contests.

Before the game wrapped up, senior forward Gael Valle added some insurance with a wonderful touch on a cross into the box. Valle contributed high-level runs and energetic attacks all game long; it was only a matter of time until he broke through as he tallied his fourth goal of the year with six minutes to go.

Bernalillo could now exhale, as the buzzer sounded on a 4-0 final. They avoided the upset and now gear up for district play.