Runners Pull the Plug on the Power

New Mexico Runners Pull the Plug on the Power

Rio Rancho, NM (December 7, 2019) – After more than a nine month long off season, the New Mexico Runners took to the turf once again to face off against their opening week opponent the Austin Power. The Runners pulled the plug on the power by a score of 12-5

Despite the lengthy hiatus, the Runners showed no signs of rust striking first with two unanswered goals less than five minutes into the first quarter. Second season veteran Midfielder Luis Fernando Martinez drew first blood with Forward Froilan Ramirez not far behind.

The Runners would go onto to score three unanswered until Darwin Rios got the Power on the board with a timely goal midway through the first quarter. The Runners would close the quarter with an impressive 4-1 advantage over the visiting Power.

Just when it looked like it couldn’t get any better, the Runners defense cranked the intensity up to an eleven by pitching a shutout of the Power’s offense in the second quarter.

New Mexico wasn’t just firing on all cylinders on the defensive end. The offense was also on fire going on to score four unanswered goals with last season’s league MVP forward Jaime Rodriguez leading the charge. His goal was met with a thunderous roar from the crowd of more than 850 loyal Runners fans who had only caught a brief glimpse of his potential during the exhibition game between the US and Mexico earlier this August.

One of the most impressive stat lines of the night was the even distribution of scoring. In all five, Runners managed to rack up points with Martinez having an MVP caliber performance scoring 4 total goals. Rodriguez and Ramirez were not far behind each scoring a grand total of three, with Midfielder Seth Gordon and Forward Isaiah Madrid scoring one apiece.

The stellar defensive performance led Runners starting goalkeeper Casey Gasson to have a quiet night in the box making six saves and allowing just one goal through the first half. He was ultimately relieved by Dominic Valenzuela who played out the third with Gasson coming back in to seal the deal.

The Runners kept rolling matching the Power’s scoring through the third and fourth quarters closing the game with a decisive 12-5 win over the power marking the largest margin of victory in team history with a previous margin of victory of 3.

The win moves the Runners to 1-0 on the season and 1-0 at home.

New Mexico will travel to Colorado for a double header weekend next week to face the Colorado Rumble on Saturday December 14th at 7:00pm at the Foothills Fieldhouse and the Colorado Inferno on Sunday at 3 PM at the SoccerHaus. The game will be live streamed on Facebook live. The Runners return home on Saturday December 21^st at 5 PM at the Santa Ana Star Center.

The New Mexico Runners are New Mexico’s professional arena soccer team based in Rio Rancho, NM and current members of Major Arena Soccer League 2 (MASL2). The Runners play their home games at Santa Ana Star Center and season 2 season tickets are on sale NOW by calling 505.663.7RUN (7786). For more information on the Runners, visit http://www.newmexicorunners.com as well as LIKE, FOLLOW and SHARE on social media at @nmrunners.
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