Girls soccer champ Cibola will challenge for another crown
Not that this wasn’t already regarded as the most talented grouping of girls soccer teams in New Mexico, but now, with Gary Zink getting his ring, District 1-6A just gained that much more prestige.
Following the triumph of Zink and the Cibola Cougars at the Class 6A state tournament last fall, every coach of a metro-area school that belongs to that league now has a championship on their résumé. And so it begins again. Cibola, which returns almost everybody from the squad that upset Eldorado in the final, is among those expected to challenge again this year.
“You never know,” Zink said. “But I think they’re pretty hungry. Yeah, we won state, but we don’t get the accolades.”
The 6A player of the year as voted on by coaches, junior midfielder/ forward Lexi Baca, heads up the list of returning talent for the Cougars.
But as always, their district is stacked.
“We have good quality across the board,” said Cleveland coach Greg Rusk of his team. Rusk won four state titles when he was running La Cueva’s program in the 1990s.
The Storm figure to be strong through the midfield and up top as it tries to unseat Cibola in 1-6A.
Rio Rancho was one of the teams upset by Cibola in last season’s playoffs, but the Rams bring back seven starters (like Cleveland), including All-State forward Leilani Baker.
“It’s hard to figure who is the clear favorite,” veteran Ram coach Uwe Balzis said, who won state with Rio Rancho in 2007.
Volcano Vista coach Samantha Lucero got her blue trophy in 2010 and has two of the metro’s top talents in midfielders Annie Kolich and Brianna Martinez, and the Hawks may possibly get a transfer from Bosque in goal scorer Dalis Bruce, a terrific young player.
Regardless of how that turns out, the Hawks have some outstanding forwards that Lucero believes can get Volcano Vista back into the mix in November.
District 2 may prove to be a tight duel between La Cueva and Sandia.
The Bears lost several important players to graduation, including Gatorade Player of the Year, forward Jordyn Lacy. Meanwhile, the Matadors graduated only three seniors total.
“We’re extremely deep this year,” Sandia coach David Disko said. “I think we’re gonna be good. I think they can compete with anyone.”
Eldorado has a new coach in Andrew Wiese and figures to be somewhere in the mix at the top of District 2.
“We’ll have our work cut out for us,” Wiese said. “It’s definitely a work in progress.”
In District 4, Albuquerque High was a top-four seed and state semifinalist last season before bowing out to Eldorado.
Senior defender Marisa Contreras heads up a list of impressive returners for the Bulldogs.
Class 5A
St. Pius has won three consecutive state titles in the state’s secondlargest division, and won 20 games last season, capped with a victory over Los Alamos in the final.
Despite having some low numbers in the program, coach David Sullivan, Jr., believes his first unit is outstanding.
“My top 15 are as good as anyone’s in the state,” he said.
Which is why he is taking the Sartans to Northern California next month for a couple of high-profile games, including one with Maria Carrillo High in Santa Rosa, Calif., a longtime former top-ranked team in the country. That is part of a demanding schedule for St. Pius.
“Our core is very strong,” Sullivan said. “I think we are gonna get going and not miss a step.”
Albuquerque Academy, which was beaten in the state semifinals by the Sartans — in PKs — should definitely be a factor this year under new coach Peter Glidden.
“We could be a tough team to beat,” he said. “The girls have high expectations.”
Valencia and Los Lunas both were state quarterfinalists last season.
Class 1A-4A
Hope Christian is the defending state champion, but even coach Ron Espinoza believes it is Bosque School, Sandia Prep and St. Michael’s (last year’s runnerup) which are probably the teams to beat in this division as the Huskies will be super young this season.
Bosque coach Jacob Cortez doesn’t mince words about his team’s chances.
“I expect to be in the mix again,” he said. “I would be shocked if we weren’t.”
Sandia Prep has similar expectations after reaching the state semifinals last year.