Cibola set to begin quest for 3rd straight title
Cibola, Albuquerque Academy and Sandia Prep today begin their quests to repeat as girls state soccer champions.
In Cibola’s case, it’s a pursuit of a rare threepeat. It’s been over 20 years since the big-school division had one of those.
A look at the brackets:
Class 6A Favorite: La Cueva Dark horse: Cibola
Quarterfinals (all noon today): No. 1 La Cueva (17-1) vs. No. 9 Sandia (12-6-1); No. 4 Volcano Vista (13-5) vs. No. 5 Cibola (15-4); No. 3 Hobbs (14-2-1) vs. No. 6 Centennial (18-2-1); No. 2 Cleveland (17-2) vs.
No. 10 Eldorado (9-9-1)
Players to watch: Corey Kizer, Cleveland, sr. (24 goals); Kat Robinson, La Cueva, sr. (.133 goals-against average); Lexi Baca, Cibola, sr. (20G); Karlee Maes, La Cueva, sr. (23G); Kailey Peña, Cleveland, sr. (15G, 14 assists); Jennifer Schroeder, Hobbs, sr. (23G); Sydney Groth, Sandia, jr. (21G); Brianna Martinez, Volcano Vista, sr. (member of USA U18 squad)
Sizing up the field: The Bears lost only to Volcano Vista and are on a 14-game winning streak. They are led by UNM-bound Maes, the University of Pittsburgh-bound Robinson, and have surrendered only four goals all season. … Several other teams are capable of putting together three wins this week. Two-time defending champion Cibola, a veteran team that authored a stout first-round victory over Rio Rancho, features senior Cougar forward Baca, who like La Cueva’s Maes will play at UNM. … If you want to see one of the top prep players in the country, this is your final chance, as Volcano Vista’s Martinez (a Notre Dame commit) closes out a tremendous high school career. And the Hawks already own victories over La Cueva, Cibola, Cleveland and Albuquerque Academy, so beware. … Cleveland, which has the much friendlier half of the draw in 6A, features a potent scoring duo in Peña and Kizer, and has a fantastic presence in net with Gabby Garcia. Cleveland beat Eldorado 3-1 at the metro tournament. … Few metroarea fans know much about third-seeded Hobbs, since the Eagles’ schedule didn’t include a school in this half of the state. Hobbs is one of three teams (Cleveland and Centennial the others) that have yielded only 12 goals this season.
Class 5A Favorite: Albuquerque Academy Dark horse: Los Lunas
Quarterfinals ( all 9:30 a.m. today): No. 1 Albuquerque Academy (16-4) vs. No. 8 Roswell (13-8); No. 4 Farmington (16-4) vs. No. 12 Valencia (10-9-2); No. 3 St. Pius (11-4-1) vs. No. 6 Los Alamos (15-5-1); No. 2 Aztec (17-2) vs. No. 7 Los Lunas (14-6-1)
Players to watch: Kylie Spangler, Los Lunas, sr. (42G, 114 points); Arin Coleman, Farmington, sr. (30G); Miranda Hart, St. Pius, sr. (27G); Ariana Romero, Los Lunas, sr. (35G, 105 pts.); Eliza Mariner, Albuquerque Academy, jr. (28G); Alix Hailey, Los Alamos, jr. (21G, 17A); Autumn Peterson, Aztec, sr. (18G); McKenzie Coleman, Farmington, soph. (28G)
Sizing up the field: Led by the prolific Mariner, Academy is out to repeat as champion and is 5-1 against the other seven quarterfinalists. … But there are some other very qualified sides in this field. Farmington beat Academy 3-1 earlier this year and — like Los Lunas — has a high-scoring tandem in the Colemans. … Aztec is the No. 2 seed, its losses coming to Academy and St. Pius. Aztec, is on a 10-game winning streak, has over 100 goals as a team and five players with at least 10 goals. … Los Lunas’ duo of Romero and Spangler has been sensational, although they were blanked by Aztec in a lopsided 5-0 result in late August. … Huge underdog Valencia is a team the casual fan can root for. The Jaguars were not only a late addition to the field, but then they went out and upset No. 5 Alamogordo in the first round. In late September, Valencia lost one of its players, junior Erika Herrera, who was killed in an auto accident.
Class 1A-4A Favorite: Santa Fe Prep Dark horse: Hope Christian Quarterfinals (all 2:30 p.m. today): No. 1 Santa Fe Prep (14-0-1) vs. No. 8 Moriarty (147); No. 4 Socorro (14-4) vs. No. 5 Hope Christian (11-10); No. 3 Sandia Prep (13-7) vs. No. 6 St. Michael’s (15-6); No. 2 Bosque (14-4-2) vs. No. 10 Robertson (10-11)
Players to watch: Anna Swanson, Santa Fe Prep, fresh. (47G, 110 pts.); Ashley Strader, Moriarty, jr. (31G); Genevieve Gray, Bosque School, sr. (27G); Gabriella Montoya, Robertson, jr. (23G); Tiana Baca, St. Michael’s, sr. (20G); Samantha Jeffries, Sandia Prep, soph. (.814 GAA); Lynn Robey, Santa Fe Prep, jr. (16G, 19A); Danielle Moore, Socorro, sr. (14G, 17A)
Sizing up the field: The Blue Griffins have won 12 straight and are trying to make it back-to-back years for Santa Fe Prep with a blue trophy after the boys won this division in 2016. It has been a dominant regular season for Santa Fe Prep, scoring over six goals per game and giving up less than one per game on average. … The chasing pack includes Bosque and Sandia Prep, which also had first-round byes. The Bobcats edged the Sundevils in a tiebreaker in that district, and Gray has been one of the state’s premier goal scorers during her career. … Defending champion Sandia Prep already beat the Lady Horsemen in the regular season, and is led by sophomore Jacqueline Rodriguez’s 17 goals. … Hope, in that top half of the draw with Santa Fe Prep, has seven one-goal losses — many of them to elite programs in larger divisions (like Cleveland, St. Pius, Los Lunas and Los Alamos). That almost stands to reason with its young roster.