{"id":27960,"date":"2024-04-25T23:33:09","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T05:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-soccer-leans-on-strong-senior-spine\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T00:16:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:16:47","slug":"montezuma-cortez-soccer-leans-on-strong-senior-spine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-soccer-leans-on-strong-senior-spine\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma-Cortez soccer leans on strong senior spine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ignacio's
Ignacio's Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga (10) seeks speed to separate from Montezuma-Cortez's Anna Jensen (1) during non-league action Friday afternoon, April 5, at M-CHS. IHS lost 9-0, less than a day after winning 8-3 at Del Norte\u2013with Mendoza-Lechuga netting all eight of the Lady Bobcats' goals. (Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

CORTEZ \u2013 Right down the middle of the Panthers formation, sweeper to central midfield to striker, Montezuma-Cortez High School possesses a wealth of experience that makes the whole machine operate.<\/p>\n

Everything for the Panthers attack radiates from the central spokes of seniors Grace Darrin, Anna Jensen and Janae Boyd \u2013 and the rest of the team has learned to work in concert, defending and scoring in unison in the midst of another strong season for M-CHS soccer.<\/p>\n

The fact that M-CHS has turned into a Southwest Colorado power belies the fact that the program had laid fallow for two years \u2013 and further emphasizes just how impactful the Class of 2024 has been in the rise to prominence.<\/p>\n

At the center of it all, literally, stands Jensen \u2013 whose composure and decision-making in the midfield stirs the rest of the team\u2019s offensive rhythm. Having played club soccer in Durango from her early years in the sport, Jensen valued staying with her hometown school for her scholastic experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be able to play with my friends in this community and represent my school well is really important to me,\u201d said Jensen, who plans to serve the country with the U.S. Coast Guard beyond her graduation in May. \u201cI\u2019ve been wanting to grow a soccer community in Cortez \u2013 and hopefully it\u2019s something that will continue on with the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnna knows how to connect to everybody on the team and she knows the game so well,\u201d said Darrin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always checking the field, knowing where players are,\u201d said Jensen. \u201cI\u2019m already thinking ahead of where I\u2019d go next if I\u2019m to get the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jensen joins junior Emily Howell as the assist leaders over the past three seasons. Among the primary benefactors, Boyd has transformed into a bona fide scorer for the Panthers, breaking through with her first high school goal in an early season demolition of Ignacio. Since then, Boyd and the Panthers offense haven\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to get used to asking for the ball \u2013 I\u2019ve gained a lot from the really good girls that I watched from earlier in my career,\u201d said Boyd, the team\u2019s leading scorer this season, \u201cand I\u2019ve been able to learn from some of my own mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyd joins a handful of Dolores student-athletes, along with DHS educator and first-year head coach Melody Harris, who make the daily trek down Colorado Highway 145 to play for the orange-and-black. With Panthers leading scorer junior Jordi Mahler sidelined with a preseason injury, Boyd took on her elevated role with aplomb, and her combined speed and nose for the ball has made her a handful for opposing defenses.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez's
Montezuma-Cortez's Janae Boyd (15) squares a pass to the outside during the Lady Panthers' 9-0 home win Friday afternoon over Ignacio. Boyd scored two goals. (Joel Priest\/Special to the Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed being with different teammates for each sport,\u201d said Boyd, who finished up her basketball career with Dolores this winter. \u201cWith some of my teammates like Anna, we\u2019ve played together since we were young, and so we\u2019ve already had some of the chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the heart of the back line, Darrin utilizes her steadying demeanor and vantage point of the entire pitch to help orchestrate the organization and discipline of a Panthers unit that has been hard to breakdown over the past several seasons. Working as the last line of defense in front of junior goalkeeper Aubrey Rutherford, Darrin\u2019s ability to track opposing strikers and clear potential threats is a skill that Darrin has owned since stepping into the M-CHS program after a move to the area before her sophomore year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important to keep everyone in their positions,\u201d said Darrin, \u201cand I\u2019ve felt more confident about being a leader on the field, but I\u2019m also able to take my teammates\u2019 feedback and work together to make sure nothing gets through.\u201d Darrin added a memorable highlight to her career, scoring her first goal in high school \u2013 fittingly on an assist from Jensen.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez's
Montezuma-Cortez's Grace Darrin (25) fights through a pair of Ignacio defenders in a match on April 5. Darrin scored her first high school goal in the Panthers\u2019 win. (Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Focusing on open communication and a positive atmosphere, Jensen keeps the results in perspective, \u201cWe\u2019re here to have fun, because if you\u2019re not, then why are you doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n

M-CHS celebrated their entire senior class on Saturday, April 27 against Pagosa Springs, honoring an impactful group that immediately stepped in as leaders \u2013 including stout defender Alyssa Brittain and fleet-footed forward Mikayla Puett as part of their collection of five seniors.<\/p>\n

One thing serves as the glue for the seniors \u2013 a passion for the game \u2013 which brings along the next wave of M-CHS soccer success. \u201cWe\u2019ve always loved the game,\u201d said Darrin, \u201cand we\u2019ve been wanting to build this program back up \u2013 and though it\u2019s been a challenge, we\u2019re proud of what we\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leadership at each level has Panters poised for another postseason<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27961,"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-27960","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\/27960","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=27960"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80254,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27960\/revisions\/80254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27960"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=27960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}