ALAMOSA — A day removed from their fifth overtime match of the season Mean Moose (7-7-1) soccer welcomed Bayfield (2-13) for both club’s team season closer. Alamosa took the late season contest by a score of 1-0. The win gave Alamosa a one game lead in the Intermountain League and an automatic berth to the 3A playoffs.

Prior to Saturday the Mean Moose had been on a four game skid. They came close to a win Oct. 19 forcing overtime against Montezuma-Cortez. But when they couldn’t get it done and were forced to accept a tie. The streak traces back to Sept. 15, which oddly enough was their last meeting with Bayfield. That game ended in a 3-2 win for Alamosa. Saturday afternoon both teams were eager to close their season with a win. Alamosa had the home field and ‘Senior Appreciation’ to consider.

In the first half Alamosa’s hunger translated poorly into misplaced aggression and by extension penalties. Alamosa’s Isai Lemus was given a warning, Alamosa’s coaching staff dealt with others before the misplaced aggression became corrosive. It was easy to see where the frustration was coming from as they had five shots on goal and were out shooting their opponents better than two to one. Yet they couldn’t get anything past Bayfield’s Bailee Blakeslee and the scoreboard read 0-0.

In the second half the frustration continued to mount for both teams. Again Alamosa was sending anything handy at Blakeslee and Bayfield had a hard time gaining access to their attacking side of the field. As a result the physicality got cranked up on both sides. Both teams took their shots at a handful of penalty kicks everything going wide.

With time winding down in the half it looked as though the league rivals might need an overtime period to settle things. Alamosa junior Esteban Antonio gathered up a pass while streaking down the left side. Antonio hadn’t gotten a whole lot of clean looks thus far but he was sure not to waste this one. The Alamosa junior loosed a ball that crossed Blakeslee’s face and beat him on the far side.

The solo goal of the game stood tall through the final minutes to get Alamosa to .500. When the match reached it's conclusion the two clubs were sure to leave it all the hard play on the field, both teams coming together near midfield.

The automatic berth puts Alamosa in the post season. And as the number 32 seed the Mean Moose are on a collision course with No. 1 seed Atlas Prepatory (14-0-1) of Colorado Springs. The game is scheduled for Thursday  at Atlas Prepatory in Colorado Springs.