Beltran gives Raiders another weapon

 Itzel Rodriguez and Nikki Talamante are well known as a two-headed scoring threat for the Cibola girls soccer team.

 In a 5A Gila Valley Region game against San Luis, Stephanie Beltran gave the beast an extra head.

 Beltran had a goal and two assists as the Raiders won their region opener 4-1 against first-place San Luis at the Snake Pit.

 Beltran scored unassisted in the 19th minute Wednesday, pushing a shot to the left past San Luis goalie Carolyn Sosa, who was pulled out of the net to defend.

 "She really came on at our tournament," Cibola coach Mike Fritz said. "She's another player that helps Nikki and Itzel quite a bit the way she's finishing the ball and passing the ball. She's had that potential, now she's finally realized the quality player she can be."

 Even though the Raiders (3-2 AIA power point games, 1-0 region) dominated the first half on offense, San Luis (4-3, 2-1) tied the game 2:01 into the second half on a Montse Rodriguez goal past Carlee Davis, who had come out of the net to defend.

 But Cibola took the lead for good when Beltran worked the ball up the right side, lured Sosa out of the net again and passed left to an open Talamante, who scored with ease 2:10 after the San Luis goal.

 Cibola outshot San Luis 27-12. Fritz said the Sidewinders' quick goal in the second half wasn't a wake-up call for the team and that the Raiders' quick answer was just a natural flow of the game.

 "That's the way soccer games are," Fritz said. "When you've seen enough soccer games, you see that happen. It happens all the time that teams that control the game lose games. It's all about finishing."

 Rodriguez added two goals five minutes a part, one off a Beltran assist.

  "I think we just continued with solid play," Fritz said. "San Luis is a quality opponent, hats off to them. ... We just played well and finished a few chances at the end there. We were fortunate to win."

 San Luis coach Jay VanWassenhoven refused to comment after the game, instead allowing senior captain Jocelyn Rojas to speak for him.

 "I think we did okay," Rojas said. "The score we got is the one I think we deserved. That's what we worked for. What can I say?"