Pavel Arguello secured a hat trick and had a hand—technically, a foot—in another goal to help the Moriarty High School boys soccer team beat the visiting East Mountain Timberwolves 4-1 Sept. 24.
Arguello, a senior who works the field as both a forward and a midfielder, scored two goals in the first half and scored on a penalty kick in the second half. His free kick in the first half contributed to another Moriarty goal. “It was a big game for me today,” he said.
In the 19th minute, Arguello took a pass from Frank McCleave and poked in the Pintos’ first goal.
Two minutes later, Arguello booted a free kick into a scrum in front of the goal that ricocheted off a T’Wolves defender and went in to give the Pintos a 2-0 advantage.
In the 28th minute, McCleave sent the ball into the 18-yard box where Arguello secured it, maneuvered around a T’Wolves defender and their goalkeeper to notch his second goal and a 3-0 Pintos lead.
“I found a little gap open, and I don’t usually use my left foot but I tried it with my left and it made it through a perfect gap, that one worked out for me nicely,” Arguello said.
Early in the second half, after getting knocked down inside the 18 and awarded a penalty kick, Arguello hammered in the PK for his third goal of the game.
McCleave was awarded a PK in the 52nd minute but his shot caromed off the right post.
Tizo Chavez scored East Mountain’s lone goal in the 60th minute. “The ball was just rolling and I was trying to go for the back post and I kicked it and the ball hit a bump and went in,” he said.
Both teams’ coaches noted a preference in their players’ performances in different halves of the match.
“Good result, really good first half,” Moriarty head coach Jordan Allcorn said, adding, “Pavel had a great game, he’s been a little banged up and he did a good job today.”
“We have three guys out so I was pleased with the effort,” East Mountain head coach John Larson said. “We played a much better second half, in my opinion the second half was a much closer game.”
The Pintos (3-6-1) play at Albuquerque’s Hope Christian Sept. 28; the T’Wolves (4-7) host Portales the same day.
Leota started working for The Independent in 2006, working her way up through the ranks. An employee buyout in 2010 led to her ownership of the newspaper. Leota has served on the board of the N.M. Press Association, and is currently its First Vice President. She is passionate about health and wellness, especially mental health, and loves making art. She can be reached at news.ind.editor@gmail.com.
