La Cueva tops Eldorado, stays unbeaten
Bears secure District 2-6A crown with 3-2 victory
The first one? Offsides. The second one? Also erased. But La Cueva’s third chance for a goahead — and ultimately game-winning — goal on Tuesday night against Eldorado left no doubt whatsoever.
Jake Eanes’ 78th-minute penalty kick ended an entertaining showdown with the Eagles, and it also earned the secondranked Bears the District 2-6A boys soccer championship with a hard-fought 3-2 victory at the APS Complex.
Eanes went low and left on his PK, as La Cueva (13-0-4, 8-0-1 in 2-6A) avoided overtime against its biggest rival.
“It’s always fun to play them at this time of year, at night, under the lights, in front of this crowd,” said Eanes. “And to win the district championship, it’s always fun.”
The second-place Eagles (9-6-2, 5-3-1) had to beat La Cueva on Tuesday, then get help from Clovis on Saturday against the Bears in order to overtake La Cueva for the 2-6A title.
The game-winner for the Bears did not come easily.
Four minutes prior to Eanes’ goal, what looked to be the go-ahead tally was waved off due to an offsides call. Two minutes after that, the Bears appeared to score again — but it was ruled that the ball had gone over the endline seconds earlier, thereby negating that goal as well.
And just a minute later, an Eldorado player went up in the box to head a clear, but missed it and came down on a Bear. A foul was called.
“Have to call a foul,” Eagles coach Tom Hirschman said.
Eanes stepped up and calmly delivered the game-winner to the right of Eldorado goalkeeper Derek Rodriguez.
“I’ve said it before,” La Cueva coach Easy Jimenez said. “It’s how we respond. Our team has been responding the whole year.”
A.J. Lewis for Eldorado and Marco Monetti of La Cueva traded first-half goals. Early in the second half, Andres Zanios, from 6 yards out, gave the Bears a lead. But Eldorado’s Isai Carillo answered five minutes later for a 2-2 game.
The loss dropped the Eagles into third place in 2-6A, behind Sandia (8-9, 6-3). The Matadors need only beat last-place Manzano (4-12-1, 1-8) on Saturday to clinch second place.
La Cueva will be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed when the 6A playoff brackets come out Sunday. Top-ranked Albuquerque High will likely occupy the other slot.
Volcano Vista forfeits
Days before the state bracket comes out, Volcano Vista’s boys inherited two new losses.
A victory and a draw for the Hawks, both in September, were turned into forfeits on Monday by the New Mexico Activities Association. They have to forfeit a win against Sandia Prep and a draw versus St. Pius — the final fallout from the Skylor Rose situation.
Rose, a junior forward, played those two games as a result of a temporary restraining order granted against the NMAA.
After the TRO was overturned in a District court hearing, the NMAA invoked section 6.20.2 of its handbook in administering the forfeits.