Chloe McComas (14) of Del Norte and Gladys Hernandez (3) of Center work to get back to the ball during Del Norte's win in Alamosa on Tuesday. McComas put together a stellar performance accounting for 5 of the Tiger's 8 goals.(Courier photo by Stephen Jiron)

ALAMOSA — Del Norte and Center made the trip east to where the refs were for a showdown on Alamosa’s turf. Del Norte (7-4-0) stayed busy and earned a 8-1 win over Center (1-9-0) on the neutral pitch.

Del Norte has gotten a chance to sharpen themselves with quality opponents these past few weeks. The Tigers have left their 2A class for meetings with Montezuma-Cortez and Buena Vista, picking up three wins in the process. In their own class Del Norte has done battle against the likes of Telluride and Ridgeway, two top ten teams, suffering two 2-1 losses. Prior to Tuesday’s contest Center was a couple weeks removed from their first win of the season over Ignacio.
 

A failing rain that peppered the Alamosa field began in earnest at the onset of the Tiger- Viking meeting. Del Norte took a few minutes to find their bearings then began their barrage. Chloe McComas was the first to strike for the Tigers giving them a 1-0 lead. After that the Tigers administered a heavy dose of Kendra Parra. The Del Norte senior found the back of the net three times in 17 minutes lifting the Tigers to a 4-0 lead at the midway point.

Coming back from the locker rooms, McComas took over the second half. The freshman seemingly scored at will with four more goals to total 5 on the day, a personal best for her on the season. With 24 minutes remaining Center got on the board. Jasmine Rodriguez loosed a slick drive from nearly even with the goal line that snuck inside the posts to give Rodriguez her second goal of the season.

Up next for Center will be a league game against Crested Butte on the road April 27. The Vikings are 0-1 against Crested Butte this season suffering a 5-0 defeat April 5. Del Norte will also go on the road when they travel on April 26 to meet Ignacio in a league game slated for a 4 p.m. start.