Timberwolves’ Late Push Falls Short in 4-3 Defeat to Sandia Prep

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A fast start was not enough for East Mountain on Thursday afternoon, as brief defensive lapses proved costly in a 4-3 loss to Sandia Prep at the Mesa Del Sol soccer complex.

The Timberwolves surged to an early 2-0 advantage behind goals from Joshua Sanchez and Zavier Hawkins, putting immediate pressure on the Sundevils. But Sandia Prep answered with sudden bursts of offense, taking advantage of short defensive lapses late in each half to turn the contest around.

Hawkins gave East Mountain late hope when he launched a 30-yard strike that dipped just beneath the crossbar to cut the deficit to 4-3, but the Timberwolves ran out of stoppage time before finding the equalizer.

East Mountain head coach Colton Oord pointed to key lapses across the 80 minutes as the deciding factor.

“Not playing 80 full minutes is the piece,” Oord said. “We got scored on (in the) second half in a two-minute spell. They put two away, and the first half was a four-minute spell that they put two away. So just clicking off and not finishing out.”

The late first-half surge from Sandia Prep shifted the momentum after the Timberwolves built their early two-goal cushion.

“Especially when you let two in with six minutes left in the half, just really deflating,” Oord said. “A lot of talk at halftime of pulling that out.”

The Timberwolves took the field short-handed, missing their No. 10 and second-leading scorer. While Oord acknowledged the challenge of shuffling the attacking line, he expressed confidence in his roster’s depth.

“Losing our 10—I mean, it sucks. We got plenty of guys that can fill into the spot,” Oord said. “Of course it’s a gap, but our guys fill it okay, and you know we clean up a thing or two, and it looks fine. We’ve done it the last two matches without him, so we can do it.”

The defeat drops East Mountain to 0-1 to open district play, leaving little room for error moving forward.

“Sandia Prep’s going to go win every match before we see them again, probably without question,” Oord said. “So we’ve got to go out, win every match, and then we’ve got to come out and play them again… It’s an uphill battle now. Stepping into district at 0-1 really makes it an uphill battle. You’ve got to win nine straight, but it’s doable.”

Despite the setback, Oord found encouragement in the squad’s offensive output against one of the state’s traditional powers.

“To put three away on Sandia Prep is a pretty big deal at the end of the day,” Oord said. “It sucks to have the result, but putting three away is positive. Clean up a thing or two, and we’re in a good spot.”