East Mountain Blanks 5A West Mesa 4-0 in Season Opener

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Class 3A East Mountain shook off early-season jitters and proved classification is just a number Thursday, cruising to a 4-0 victory over Class 5A West Mesa at Sandia Prep.

Josh Sanchez broke the ice for the Timberwolves, netting the lone goal of a tightly contested first half to give East Mountain a 1-0 edge at the break.

The Timberwolves broke the match wide open in the second half. Zavier Hawkins doubled the lead before a miscue led to an own goal by the West Mesa Mustangs, pushing the margin to three. Freshman Oliver Chinn capped the scoring to seal the shutout.

The match came together on short notice after a scheduled tournament in Aztec fell through, forcing East Mountain to quickly assemble an opening slate against much larger programs.

“You open with a bigger 5A school that’s pulling more kids than we can even imagine in East Mountain, and so I was a little nervous,” East Mountain head coach Colton Oord said. “Starting it off 1-0 just makes everyone trust the process and even our system a little bit more.”

The Timberwolves took roughly 10 minutes to find their rhythm, relying on freshman goalkeeper Thaddeus Wojcik to keep the match level early. Assort turned away a dangerous West Mesa free kick that curled around the wall toward the back post.

“Patty looked really well today,” Oord said. “That was a huge moment of shift in the match. If West Mesa would have put that away, they would have had a little more behind them and we would have struggled.”

Once settled, East Mountain’s experienced midfield took control, dictating the tempo and dictating play through the final whistle.

“We returned so many guys that, for the first year, it felt like we weren’t reteaching a system like how it always feels in high school ball,” Oord said. “That felt a little bit nicer today — a little more cohesion.”

The victory comes amid early-season logistical challenges for the Timberwolves, who have juggled practice locations while awaiting the completion of renovations on their home pitch.

East Mountain continues its quick-turnaround schedule Friday against Santa Fe’s Academy for Technology and the Classics (ATC) before facing Gallup on Tuesday.