It’s time to shake things up.
At least that’s what Montezuma-Cortez soccer coach Sean Fitzgerald thought after the Panthers’ 8-0 loss to Telluride on Thursday.
The Miners got two goals from Fabio Oliveira in the first half to lead 2-0 at the break. And then they erupted for six more goals in the second to run away with the contest.
Oliveira completed a hat trick in the 48th minute, and he scored twice more in the second to finish with 5 goals. Telluride also got second-half goals from Jacob Nelson, Marco Canclini and Leland Burchmore in the 8-0 drubbing.
Trailing big in the second half, Fitzgerald went to his bench.
He tossed out different rotations and changed things up to try and find something that would work. And in the process, he may have discovered some new lineups to try moving forward.
“The way they picked up the energy and everything else, every one is looking at changing everything up for the starting 11,” he said. “Which is good to see – competition. So I’m happy to see that and that’s a positive for the whole thing, is that our bench came off and they were ready to go. And they had more chances than our varsity starters. So it’s an eye opener for everyone.”
Fitzgerald specifically mentioned the play of Obed Simental, Alden Adams, Shawn Higgins, Kameron Daves and Tyler Cutrone. All brought energy to the match as reserves.
“I think Obed, Alden and Shawn really showed through,” he said. “I think Cameron and the defense showed, and Tyler came in and I think he did really well.”
M-CHS (1-5, 0-4 Southwest Soccer League) hosts Pagosa Springs (1-5, 1-2 SWSL) on Tuesday.