Whether it be football, basketball or even baseball, defense wins games. The same can certainly be said for soccer as well.

"That’s how the contain-and-support defense should work," new head boys soccer coach Todd Starr said immediately following the Panthers’ 4-0 win over a good Pagosa Springs team on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 2, at Norman Johnson Memorial Field. "I thought it was a good way to open the season."

The Panthers shut down the Pirates on offense all day long. Pagosa plays a 3-2-5 which means they play three fullbacks, two midfielders, and five forwards. Pagosa averages about 30 shots per half. They clobbered La Veta 6-0 on Friday, Sept. 1, to open the season.

Pagosa got no where near that total even for the whole game. It shot four times in the first half and about that many in the second. Meanwhile, the Panthers were taking shots from all over the field.

With just over a minute gone, Tyler Gilstrap had taken a shot, although it went wide of the mark. The Panthers kept the ball on the attacking half of the field. Jeremy Jaslowski, Josh Peck, and Gilstrap made shots on goal. Finally at the 8:30 mark, Cody Beaver, who goes to Dolores High, booted the ball into the goal.

Pagosa Springs, meanwhile, still had no shots on goal at the 11-minute mark. Beaver made another shot but was wide. Finally, Mike Pierce of Pagosa attempted a shot but was way short. Brian Hart also made a shot but was way short.

Perhaps the only thing the Panthers did not do in the first half was communicate. They did not talk to each other much and they were corrected by Starr. The Panthers continued to put pressure on the ball. They made good transition from defense to offense. And before long, several of the Pagosa forwards moved back into the midfield to try to hold the Panthers off. Garrett Andrews did a nice job in the goalie crease.

With 36:41 gone in the first half, the Panthers made the score 2-0. Jon Cullington kicked the ball high and it just dropped in between the goalie and the goal.

The Panthers continued to keep the pressure on. Beaver put the goalie jersey on for the second half. The Panthers moved the ball down the field early. Jaslowski made a nice shot but it was blocked. However, the ball got away from the goalie and Brian Cone was there for the rebound goal (3-0) at 3:30. The Panthers were now in complete control.

MCHS continued to transition well. Their passes were sharp. Pagosa could only keep the ball in the midfield area and did not penetrate much. Cortez, though, seemed to let off their defense and Pagosa came back with a nice offensive threat. But Beaver made a nice diving save. Pagosa got a direct kick at the 16:26 mark, but the ball sailed wide. Cortez moved the ball back down field. Grayson Andrews and Matt Percy both made shots on goal, both barely missing the mark near the 20-minute mark.

Pagosa could never get much offense going against the Panthers’ defense. The Pirates were totally frustrated. The Panthers put immediate pressure on and the ball continued to bounce Cortez’ way. Omar Pena made the final score at 25 minutes for the final 4-0 score.

"The defensive style of contain and support works. We stopped the ball and got it and we transitioned well. And that’s all we were hoping for. Here we went up against a team that averages 30 shots a half and we stopped to only a few shots. Our outside midfielders need to get their transition game down better. But other than that I thought it was a pretty good game for an opener," Starr remarked.