Nail-biters in Metro finals
La Cueva boys win on penalty kicks; Storm girls prevail in OT
The calendar said early September. But in nearly every way, it felt like early November.
Cleveland’s girls — in overtime — and La Cueva’s boys — in penalty kicks — were dramatic winners Friday night at the Albuquerque Metro Soccer Championships, both prevailing in front of huge, state-tournament sized crowds at the APS Complex.
LA CUEVA 0, ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 0 (Bears won 8-7 in
PKs): At the end, it was the right hand of Anthony Muñoz and the right foot of Michael Cole that finally earned La Cueva (4-0-1) this tournament crown.
“Best 15 PKs I’ve ever seen,” Bears coach Easy Jimenez said. Both teams scored on their first seven tries.
Muñoz stopped the Chargers’ Lucas Jepsen in the eighth round, guessing correctly, as the netminder moved to his right to stop a low, hard shot.
But Muñoz wasn’t about to reveal how he knew what he knew.
“I was able to read it early,” Muñoz said. “Me and my goalkeeper coach work on (shootouts). It’s a secret me and him keep. I was happy to be able to use it tonight.”
Said Jimenez, “If anybody was going to pull it out for us, it’s Anthony. He’s the best ’keeper in the state.”
Jimenez confided before PKs began that he was skeptical that
his team would prevail.
“I just thought the way we played, we didn’t carry it over from our last game,” he said. “I thought (Academy) outplayed us tonight.”
La Cueva hit a goalpost in the final 10 seconds of the second OT that nearly ended the game.
Later, after Muñoz made his stop to begin the eighth round, Cole stepped up and delivered the game-winning goal.
“I was just walking up and keeping my head calm,” Cole said. “I knew all I had to do was put it in.”
The Chargers fell to 3-1-1. The game is considered a draw for records purposes.
Girls
CLEVELAND 2, VOLCANO VISTA 1 (OT): Storm coach Greg Rusk described the game-winner, off the right foot of Maddie Barela, like this: “A frozen rope,” Rusk said. Barela usually finishes with her left foot, but she used her right foot for this shot, a laser that went between a pair of Volcano Vista defenders and over the head of Hawks goalkeeper Devon Scott-Vigil.
And the shot, in the 87th minute, was taken from Barela’s sweet spot on the pitch, in the middle at the top of the 18-yard box.
“A lot of times,” she said, “I’ll get at the top of the box and I’ll sit in the middle.”
Cleveland scored the game’s first goal, with an assist from the Hawks.
Corey Kizer fired a hard cross that ricocheted into the net off a Volcano Vista defender in the seventh minute.
Twenty minutes later, Brianna Martinez of the Hawks (3-2) had the unassisted equalizer. And that goal was only the second scored in seven games this season against the Storm and goalkeeper Gabby Garcia.
“The defense (and I) work well as a unit,” said Garcia, who made a tremendous save at the end of regulation that got this all-District 1-6A final into overtime. “And my defense are stoppers.”
Cleveland and the Hawks have at least two more meetings this year in district. Rusk said he wouldn’t be surprised if there was a fourth, at state.
“We’re having a blast,” Garcia said. “We’re just trying to make this season a memorable one.”