{"id":22398,"date":"2025-05-01T17:08:55","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T23:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-soccer-sends-off-seniors-in-style\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:13:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:13:48","slug":"montezuma-cortez-soccer-sends-off-seniors-in-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-soccer-sends-off-seniors-in-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma-Cortez soccer sends off seniors in style"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez senior Jordlan Mahler turns to fire a shot in a match against Grand Junction Central at Panther Stadium on Wednesday. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

CORTEZ \u2013 Emotions seeped into the evening post-match celebration for the Panthers.<\/p>\n

As Montezuma-Cortez High School mingled with family and friends after their resounding 7-0 win over Grand Junction Central on Senior Day, there was a sense that the torch was being passed from the Class of 2025 to the up-and-coming group that will soon steer the Panthers.<\/p>\n

Amid tearful hugs, the Panthers could rest assured that their match in front of an energetic Panther Stadium crowd wouldn\u2019t be their last. Their winning season will include another act, and for the first time in over 20 years, their postseason stage will be their home field.<\/p>\n

The Panthers head into the postseason brimming with confidence \u2013 and with at least one more match for seniors to make a mark.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez freshman Amani Lobato traps the ball in a match against Grand Junction Central at Panther Stadium on Wednesday. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Panthers honored a half dozen seniors and second-year head coach Melody Harris recognized the class that saw the emergence of a potential powerhouse that won back-to-back IML titles. Nine wins this season matched their mark from their sophomore season, and while the program advanced to the 3A state tournament each of those years, M-CHS had to hit the road for their opening round.<\/p>\n

M-CHS made quick work of the visiting Warriors on Wednesday evening, scoring in the first minute after freshman Kyndall Schmitt collected a rebound off a save and tucked the ball in from close range. It was a sign of things to come \u2013 the Panthers enjoyed constant breakaway opportunities and added a brace from freshman Mia Glazner in the 17th and 24th minutes to extend the lead to 3-0. Sophomore Kaybree Smith redirected a Glazner corner kick in the 27th minute, and by then, the final result was a formality.<\/p>\n

Senior Jordlan Mahler struck just after halftime for the first of two second half markers before freshman Emilynn Hill scored from a sharp angle in the final minute of regulation to cap the jubilant night.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez freshman Jordyn Erautt gets set to fire a pass in a match against Grand Junction Central at Panther Stadium on Wednesday. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It was a night for the seniors \u2013 and the Class of 2025 provided the spark. Senior Luna Moore, who provided the assist on a cross from the right wing for Glazner\u2019s first goal, recognized just how special the season has been.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been fun, even with playing with basically a whole new team,\u201d said Moore. \u201cIt took a few weeks, but then we all clicked \u2013 I think we were just learning how each other plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Panthers defense seldom faced real threats from the Warriors, but when they did, the back line was up to the task. For senior Emily Howell, the shift from an attacking role to central defense in her final year was a major adjustment, but it became a place where she found her home this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, we\u2019ve got experienced defenders back there, and that\u2019s helped me,\u201d said Howell, as she joins classmate Halee Kibel and two juniors on in the starting back four, \u201cit\u2019s allowed me to be able to see the field from a different perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unbeaten streak extended to nine straight matches, including a 10-0 thrashing of Del Norte on Monday, while in seven matches of that streak, the Panthers posted a clean sheet.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, there\u2019s been a push for urgency,\u201d Moore said, \u201cso we\u2019ve been pressing the ball, playing aggressive, but still playing our game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve worked hard \u2013 we didn\u2019t have a team before our group came in,\u201d added Howell, referring to how senior class rebuilt the program after the COVID-related complications wiped out the 2020 and 2021 seasons, \u201cbut we feel like we\u2019ve earned what we\u2019ve gotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is the program\u2019s first postseason home match in at least 20 years. M-CHS earned the No. 14 seed in the 3A state postseason bracket, and on Thursday at 3 p.m., the Panthers will host No. 19 Roaring Fork at the M-CHS soccer field, hoping to have the backing of a sea of orange-and-black.<\/p>\n

M-CHS piled up goals and shutouts on their way to a 9-1-3 record, closing the regular season on a run of nine unbeaten matches. The Panthers compiled 48 goals from nine scorers, averaging nearly four per contest \u2013 all of those metrics resetting program bests in the past couple decades.<\/p>\n

Thursday will mark the Panthers third postseason appearance in the past four years when they meet the visiting Rams, who are also no stranger to the playoffs. Roaring Fork (7-5-3, 5-2-1 3A\/2A Western Slope League) advanced to last year\u2019s quarterfinals \u2013 marking one of their deepest runs in program history. Much like M-CHS, Roaring Fork boasts multiple attacking threats with at least eight goals.<\/p>\n

The Panthers look forward to their Thursday afternoon contest with the hopes of advancing to the Round of 16 and a meeting with either No. 3 Delta (15-0) or No. 30 Elizabeth (8-5-2) on Saturday. The highest remaining seed will host the Sweet 16 and quarterfinal rounds, before the semifinals and finals will take place at a neutral location \u2013 with the 3A championship coming from Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on May 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panthers score 17 goals in two matches, await playoff fate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[38,39,28,37,36],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-22398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dolores-high-school","tag-dove-creek-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-mancos-high-school","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77694,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22398\/revisions\/77694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22398"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=22398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}