近距离内射合集

Kris Shakes took in the question and grinned the type of grin that often comes with a shake of the head. Any other topic would have been preferable. 

The New Mexico 近距离内射合集 goalkeeper wasn鈥檛 all that interested in talking about himself 鈥� be it performance, effort or skill. Even after helping the club post another shutout Saturday 鈥� 近距离内射合集鈥檚 seventh of the season 鈥� in a 1-0 home win over rival Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

鈥淚鈥檓 not too focused on myself,鈥� Shakes said. 鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 the whole team, right? The whole defense. Without them, it鈥檚 impossible for me to get a clean sheet by myself. Super grateful for the boys, the way they鈥檝e been defending.鈥�

That鈥檚 certainly fair. Whether it be Chris Gloster or Kipp Keller or Niko H盲m盲l盲inen or Maliek Howell, who scored Saturday鈥檚 goal in the 55th minute 鈥� his first of the season before leaving with an injury in the 66th 鈥� or Tyler Blackett or Cam Wilkerson or Jake LaCava when healthy. 

After all, the backline is what makes a keeper鈥檚 job easier. By contesting opposing shots. By keeping the ball away from the box. By clearing it down the pitch. Aspects that might not always show up on the stat sheet other than the final tally, but have helped 近距离内射合集 (8-4-3) push its unbeaten streak across all competitions 鈥� regular season, USL Cup and an international friendly 鈥� to 10.

It鈥檚 a streak that has also culminated in New Mexico鈥檚 rise to third in a . 近距离内射合集鈥檚 27 points are seven behind first-place Orange County SC and four below San Antonio FC.

And those final tallies have been something. New Mexico has allowed six total goals over those 10 matches, three of which came in that international friendly against Liga MX side Atlante FC. 近距离内射合集 has scored 18 times in comparison.

鈥淲e defend collectively,鈥� manager Dennis Sanchez said. 鈥淪hakes is obviously a big part of that, but so is our entire team.鈥�

Again, that鈥檚 fair. But as Sanchez pointed out, Shakes has been hard to miss. He鈥檚 a bundle of energy and movement who never seems to sit still 鈥� always jumping, diving, talking.

All seven of the club鈥檚 shutouts this season have come with Shakes in net, with six coming during that unbeaten streak, topping the five clean sheets he totaled all last season. And in those recent six? Shakes tallied 24 saves.

That includes Saturday when he recorded six. Colorado Springs (7-6-4) finished with 20 shots total.

鈥淵ou know, Shakes is so reliable,鈥� Gloster said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an amazing person and an amazing keeper, and we try to help him as much as he helps us. If I鈥檓 able to get blocks for him, tackles that can help ease the pressure off, I鈥檓 more than happy to do it for him. And when he makes saves like (he does), it helps us a lot, so it鈥檚 amazing.鈥�

And that鈥檚 what Shakes wanted to stress after the match. Yes, he鈥檚 there to perform, but he鈥檚 just one piece of the whole. It鈥檚 a philosophy that has helped 近距离内射合集 continue to win.

It might also be one of the reasons Shakes was the last one off the field Saturday. Long after the stands emptied, the keeper stuck around just a bit longer to thank the security team. He wanted to make sure everyone got their due.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no pressure,鈥� Shakes said. 鈥淭he main point that (Sanchez) gives us every time is to stay together. So, if we stay together, we truly believe that we can get a result in any single game.鈥�

David Glovach covers New Mexico 近距离内射合集 and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .