New Mexico Falls on the Road in 1st Game of 3rd Season

Omaha, NE (December 17, 2021) – The New Mexico Runners returned to the field for the first time since March of 2020 to face the Omaha Kings on the road in Omaha, NE for their first game of the 3rd season. The Runners had a hard fought match, but came up short in a high scoring battle by a score of 10-15.

Omaha struck first with 13:57 in the 1st quarter. It didn’t take long for the Runners to equalize as team captain Froilan Ramirez eased one in. New Mexico would continue to put the pressure on as Sergio Fuentes fired one to the back of the net with the assist from Miguel Garcia to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. 

The 2nd quarter started strong for New Mexico with newcomer and Forward Alejandro Garcia finding the gap in 55 seconds to give the team a 3-1 lead. Omaha was able to cut the gap, but newcomer Jobany Villalba worked several Omaha defenders to find the back of the net with 6:48 remaining in the 2nd. The first half would settle with New Mexico leading Omaha 4-2. 

3rd quarter action was won by Omaha as they scored 8 goals to slow New Mexico. The Runners didn’t go dry and were able to add 3 goals to the scorecard with Alejandro Garcia scoring 2 and Ramirez scoring one. The Kings would end up leading at the end of the 3rd quarter 7-11. 

New Mexico’s 4th quarter push to catch up was just a valiant effort, but just a bit short. New Mexico’s Seth Gordon found open lanes to take the ball down to score with 4:53 remaining in the game. There would be another opportunity for Alejandro Garcia to score and cut the Omaha lead to 9-15. Ramirez pushed to the last seconds to find the back of the net and the game would end with Omaha defeating New Mexico 10-15. 

New Mexico’s Alejandro Garcia played an outstanding game scoring 4 goals and 1 assist. Garcia sits at the top of the league leaderboard along with Jake Gandarilla who has 3 assists.

The Runners will look to equalize the series on Saturday night as they take on the Omaha Kings for game two in Omaha, Nebraska. Game time is 8 PM MT/ 9 PM CT and will be streamed online at https://youtu.be/jsRQGXVK9SY