NM Runners get Savaged, lose fourth straight

RIO RANCHO – The tough season continues for the New MExico Runners Arenz Soccer League team as they took a tough home loss to the visiting Chiuahua Savages 2 at the Rio Rancho Event Center on Sunday evening. The final score, 18-3, was the squads fourth loss in four games.

The first half was what did the damage for the Runners. Savages forward Caique Augosto Rivero Lopes scored just a little over a minute into the match, the first of 12 different players to score for the visitors.

The Savages put up 8 goals in the first quarter and another four in the second. At the half, the score was a demoralizing 12-0.

It’s not all bad news though. The Runners came out with a renewed fire in the second half. Nicholas Cashmere put the Runners on the board at the 12:20 mark of the 3rd quarter and Andersson Castillo found the back of the net for the Runners with only 20 seconds left in the quarter.

Even better, the Runners held the Savages to just a single goal in the third.

But the third quarter just seemed to make the Savages angry. They returned to their scoring ways and put up another five goals in the fourth.

Austin Snyder knocked one in for the Runners in the seventh minute, but it was too late to do any real damage, and the the Runners took the loss. The team remains victory-less so far in the 2024-25 campaign.

Runners’ forward Jordan Maldonado now has five goals in four games and Froilan Ramirez has a team-leading six points (with three goals and three assists.)

The Runners will need to pick up their game defensively, while keeping up their offensive intensity when they face off against the 1st-place Wichita Wings at Park City Arena in Wichita on Jan. 18.

For more information on tickets, schedule and streaming, visit newmexicorunners.com.

ARENA LEAGUE STANDINGS — Midwest/West

Rk Team GP W L OT Pts

1 Wichita Wings 6 4 1 1 13

2 Certified Lions 5 3 2 0 9

3 Chi. Savage 2 3 3 0 8

4 Empire Jets 5 2 2 1 6

5 SD Sockers 2 3 2 1 5

6 Cal Express 4 1 2 1 4

7 NM Runners 4 0 4 0 0