For just their second outing of the still‑young 2026 soccer season, Montezuma‑Cortez’s girls showed poise beyond their experience Thursday, March 26, earning a 2‑0 home win over Telluride.
The Lady Panthers led 1‑0 after sophomore Mia Glazner capitalized in the 35th minute, finishing a loose ball after a botched cover and clearance by Telluride senior goalkeeper Abby Vidal. Though in control early, Montezuma‑Cortez sensed the slim margin might not be enough.
That urgency grew early in the second half, when Telluride sophomore Sienna Aplin and junior Eadie O’Callaghan tested M‑CHS sophomore goalkeeper Raegan Veach with firm, low shots in the opening seven minutes after intermission.
In the 59th minute, Montezuma‑Cortez nearly doubled its lead when Emilynn Hill clanged a potential clincher off Vidal’s near post while trying to finish teammate Kyndall Schmitt’s 30‑yard shot, which Vidal had stopped but failed to smother.
Less than a minute later, the Panthers got the insurance goal they wanted. Freshman Merolidth Avila won possession about 10 yards into the Lady Miners’ half and dropped the ball back to sophomore Jordyn Erautt, who threaded a precise pass into space to Glazner at the edge of the 18‑yard box.
With Vidal charging off her line to cut down the angle, Glazner powered a clean shot over the goalkeeper’s gloves and just inside the near post to make it 2‑0, a score that held to the final whistle.
“We have several players on this team who have a foot and a nose for the goal; everyone on this team is capable of scoring. And we put that to the test today and it showed,” said M‑CHS head coach Melody Harris.
“Knowing that it’s spring break and we were limited on numbers, we knew that we had to play smart and tactfully … and use our players so that we’re not chasing a ball 50 yards downfield every time,” she said. “So the game plan was to find the easy pass to switch the field, to look where our open players are; there was no need to force it.”
Telluride head coach Justin Chandler credited Montezuma‑Cortez’s balance at both ends of the field.
“Not much we could do about that … shot over Abby,” Chandler said. “I mean, they had two good goals today; they attack well together as a team and play defense together well. … I think they’re going to surprise a lot of people too.”
Glazner nearly completed a hat trick just a minute after her second goal but, after being fouled by Telluride senior Kimberly Magana inside the 18‑yard box, was unable to put enough power on the ensuing penalty kick to beat Vidal five‑hole.
Eager to rebound from a season‑opening 4‑2 home loss March 17 to 2A Ridgway, Montezuma‑Cortez (1‑1 overall, 0‑0 Class 3A Intermountain) set the tone early. Schmitt forced Vidal into an overhead save on a third‑minute shot, fired a 25‑yard attempt just high in the 15th minute and rattled the crossbar from a tight angle in the 18th.
“I’m happy with our improvement from our first game,” Harris said. “We worked on a lot of passing through the middle, through the defense and … really, just keeping the game simple and fundamentally sound, and using all our players on the field to develop a play.”
Telluride slipped to 2‑4 overall and remained 0‑1 in Class 2A Intermountain‑South play.
Montezuma‑Cortez will visit 2A Ignacio on Tuesday, March 31, then open league play at 3 p.m. Friday, April 3, at Alamosa. The Panthers will stop in Pagosa Springs the following morning for an 11 a.m. match.
