Runners lose, but the story continues

RIO RANCHO — It was a tough first post-bye road game for the New Mexico Runners as they took a 17-5 defeat to the Certified Lions in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Feb. 28.

This is the eighth loss in a row for the Runners, who are still winless at 0-8 on the season. The Rio Rancho-based Arena Soccer League team has struggled to find rhythm this season but has shown signs of renewed life since bringing in new head coach Brian Weems at the end of January.

The first two games under Weems were losses.

However, they were losses with a big “BUT” behind them. Both were significantly closer matches than the Runners had played all season. The team looked more focused and organized. Improvements were obvious on both the offensive and defensive sides.

Before the arrival of Weems, the Runners were averaging 13 goals allowed and 3.84 goals scored per game. After Coach Weems’ arrival, those numbers jumped to 6.5 allowed and 5.5 scored on average in the first two games.

A 17-5 final score may indicate a return to the squad’s previous “substandard” form. Closer examination of the numbers, however, might suggest something entirely different.

Considering the Runners scored zero goals in the first half and five in the second. They allowed nine goals in the first half and eight in the second. It’s possible the result was simply a one-half regression to some bad habits.

The first quarter certainly looked like the old Runners. The team was frantic and unbalanced, firing low-percentage shots at the Certified Lions starting goalkeeper, Danny De Leon. The Runners had five goals on 37 shots in the match. They had zero goals on 10 shots in the first quarter.

The second quarter, the team started to get frustrated. NM Runner James Urbany got a Blue Card (a relatively new element in soccer, the “Blue Card” removes a player from the game for 10 minutes) after a rough slide tackle with seven minutes left in the quarter, and the squad went into halftime looking defeated and dejected.

BUT...

After a number of halftime adjustments from Coach Weems and his crew, the team emerged from the break looking like the new NM Runners.

For the record, they did get two additional Blue Cards in the game, but they were far more strategic and caused frustration on the Lions’ side as well. The Lions received two Blue Cards in the second half as they found their easy road to victory increasingly blocked.

With 3:48 left in the third quarter, Runner striker Brian Rivas drilled one into the back of the net and the good guys finally got on the board. Unfortunately, the goal only made the score 13-1, but it gave the team new life.

A little over a minute later, Giancarlo Sandoval followed suit and put one past De Leon to make it 13-2.

The Lions responded before the end of the third (14-2), but the message was clear: The Runners had found their footing.

The NM Runners scored three times in the final quarter of the game (Hector Castaneda and Benjamin Rogers twice). After taking two shots at the goal in all of the second and third quarters, they put up 21 shots-on-goal in the fourth as they peppered the Lions keeper with shot after shot.

At the end of the day, it was a familiar Runners score, 17-5, but it was not a familiar Runners game. It was a microcosm of the season, starting painfully slow and rising to a competitive level. The next stop is winning.

The Runners will get a chance for revenge when the Certified Lions head to the Rio Rancho Event Center on Mar. 9, the next game on the schedule for both teams.

For tickets and information, visit newmexicorunners.com.