Momentum surged and swirled through the match like the blowing rain clouds hanging over Brother Abdon Field.

It was driven by emotion that spanned the spectrum.

It preceded history.

The Horsemen of St. Michael's, still being affected by the loss of teammate Jensen Brown, beat Los Alamos 5-4 for what is believed to be the first time in the school's history in nondistrict boys soccer Tuesday.

Brown also played club soccer with several of the Hilltoppers before he was killed in an automobile accident in April.

"It was real emotional," said Horsemen head coach Merritt Brown, who was Jensen's father and coach. "It was just very competitive with a bunch of fine young men."

The series between the two schools dates back to the mid-to-late 1980s.

The Horsemen, in a role reversal from seasons past, came out in near perfection offensively. Jeff Najjar picked up a missed cross to the left of goal and sent a beautiful bender above the head of Los Alamos goalkeeper Oliver Funsten in the 14th minute for 1-0.

"I saw the 'keeper was sort of standing off his line," Najjar said. "I wanted to get a good shot."

St. Michael's scored again 4 minutes later when Grant Duke sent a penalty kick past Funsten. Gabe Patterson was taken down in the box setting up the goal.

It was a welcome back of sorts for both players. Najjar missed all but five matches last year because of a broken foot. It's made this season all the more important for the senior. It made his three goals against the 'Toppers that much sweeter.

"I feel like this season I've got to make up for last year," Najjar said.

Duke sat out the first two matches of this season with a broken arm.

"This was really his first game back because (in Game 3) against Portales, they're a new program, so we just sort of ran over them (10-0)," Brown said. "The guys are getting used to having him out there."

In the first half, the transition seemed seamless. The Horsemen
(3-0-1) built a 4-0 lead, an almost unheard of total against Los Alamos (2-2). But the pendulum of momentum would swing again.

Mathew Leslie scored 6 minutes into the second half, and Jason Reagor hit the post just wide a minute later.

Los Alamos sweeper Will Spoonover received a yellow card between the shots and would pick up his second yellow — an automatic ejection — in the 53rd minute. He will miss the team's next match as per New Mexico Activities Association guidelines.

Najjar capped the scoring with a 22-yard free kick in the 54th minute, but that didn't calm the Horsemen sideline.

"I knew we weren't four goals better than Los Alamos," Brown said.

He was right. Andy Thoma scored 12 minutes later and Reagor topped that in the 71st minute for 5-3.

"I told the guys at half, 'we need to turn things around,' " said Hilltoppers head coach Evan Gartz. "There were things that we didn't utilize in the first half."

Los Alamos put a barrage of shots on the St. Michael's goal in the final minutes, testing everything freshman goalkeeper Arthur Dejarnette had.

Jonathan Thoma was particularly persistent. He was narrowly turned away twice inside the final 3 minutes on saves by Dejarnette.

The third time was a charm as he netted a side volley over Dejarnette in extra time.

The Horsemen were finally able to run out the clock on what will go down as one of the biggest wins in the history of the program.