Socorro senior soccer striker Dezirae Armijo has averaged almost four goals per match during her senior season and ranks third on the national career goal-scoring list. But there's so much more to the scholar and community leader than putting the ball in the back of the net.
Courtesy photo of Jonathan Miller
Sporting a grade point average of 4.3,
Dezirae Armijo certainly knows the meaning of the word quit and all those closely related: Surrender. Stop. Yield. Resign.
She simply refuses to acknowledge any of them.
"She's just relentless,"
Socorro (N.M.) High School girls soccer coach Mitch Carrejo said of his senior striker. "I've never had a player who has worked as hard as she has. She never gives up."
Armijo points to her determination as one of the biggest reasons why she's been able to smash the New Mexico state record book. The fleet, 5-foot-4, 115-pounder has scored a state single-season record 79 goals this year — nearly four per game — and earlier in the season broke the state's career goals record.
With 234 goals, Armijo ranks third on the all-time national list. Numbers aside, Armijo's sole focus is leading the No. 5 seed Warriors (18-3) to a win in their 1A-3A state quarterfinal match against No. 4 Robertson (18-2) on Thursday.
Socorro hasn't advanced out of the quarters in the last nine years.
See New Mexico girls soccer playoff brackets. "A win (on Thursday) would mean everything," said Armijo, who besides her scholarly ways is Socorro's homecoming queen and actively volunteers in community service work.
Even though Armijo receives satisfaction from scoring, she doesn't get caught up in the record-setting statistics she's produced.
"I get more of an adrenaline rush when I take on a bigger player and fight for the ball," said Armijo, who is also a standout on Socorro's basketball and track and field teams. "Whenever I fight for a ball, I feel that picks up my teammates, too. I'm fighting and they start fighting. I am small compared to some other girls out there, but I'm physical."
Carrejo said Armijo's never-say-die attitude is downright infectious to the rest of the team. Just as important, Armijo displays an unselfish attitude in practice and matches.
"She works so hard and is never satisfied," Carrejo said. "She's so humble and doesn't like to talk about her records."
To illustrate Armijo's team-first attitude, Carrejo pointed to the Warriors' last regular-season match, a 10-0 win over Ruidoso. Moments before the start of the second half, Armijo asked Carrejo if she could switch from her normal striker position to the midfield.
"She asked that so it would give some of our other seniors an opportunity to score," Carrejo said. "She puts the team above everyone else."
As proof, Carrejo notes that Armijo had 33 assists last season, a staggering total for a striker. In addition to an indefatigable work ethic, Armijo has earned raves with her speed, agility and ability to dribble effectively with both feet.
"I try to be well rounded in every part of the game," Armijo said. "Whenever I feel like I have to work on something, I do it."
And then some. Carrejo said Armijo routinely stays after practice — sometimes hours — to work on her deficiencies.
"At the beginning of the year, Dezirae's biggest weakness was her headers," Carrejo said. "She stayed countless hours to work on that part and other parts of her game. We would have a two to three hour practice, and she'll stay and take another 60 to 80 shots."
Armijo's talent was evident from the moment she stepped on the Socorro campus. She was a varsity starter as an eighth grader, finishing with 25 goals. She scored 44 times as a freshman, 32 as a sophomore (despite missing a third of the season due to injuries) and had 54 goals last season.
Armijo knew she always had a competitive fire within her — "I've always been a fighter," she said — but that resolve would be put to the test after she suffered severe sprains on both ankles within a month of each other before the start of her sophomore year.
Armijo sprained her right ankle at a basketball camp and then did the same with her left ankle three weeks later in a soccer scrimmage. Armijo said the second sprain came as a result of compensating for her right ankle, which she said wasn't fully healed. Armijo was sidelined for nearly three weeks — the longest three weeks of her life.
"It felt pretty horrible sitting on the bench," she said. "When you're out, of course you have that feeling wondering what it's going to be like when you return. You kind of ask yourself, ‘Can I be that same player I used to be?' I just knew I had to fight as hard as I've ever had to come back strong."
Have an interesting or inspiring New Mexico high school sports story? E-mail Emanuel Lee at Leefunk33@aol.com.
