STICKING TOGETHER
Volcano Vista trio plans to stay home and play for UNM
A trio of Volcano Vista soccer stars plan to stay home and become Lobos
In nine days, they’ll be conjoined as teammates. Again. For the third time.
In a way, it makes perfect sense that Dalis Bruce, Natalia Bruciaga and Arianna Cisneros are going to sign their national letters of intent to play women’s soccer for the University of New Mexico.
They have been longtime club teammates in the Rio Rapids program. And, since 2016, they have been varsity teammates at Volcano Vista.
A year from now, the close friends will be Lobos.
“The transition will be a lot easier from high school soccer living with your parents, and going to college and being able to live with the girls you’ve grown up with for a really long time,” said Bruciaga, a senior midfielder for the Hawks, who are the No. 1 seed for the Class 5A state tournament, which resumes with the quarterfinals on Wednesday at the complex on the Santa Ana Pueblo.
“To keep growing together,” Bruciaga added, “is amazing.”
She’ll actually be the second in her family to play for UNM, following her sister Ruth, who graduated several years ago.
That they will sign together was not so much planned as it seemed like a manifest destiny.
Each of the three girls has a strong bond with Lobos coach Heather Dyche that predates their arrival at Volcano Vista.
“I love coach Heather … she was my coach when I was younger and when I was with my club team,” said Bruce, who anchors the Hawks’ back line. “When I went on my unofficial visit with Ari, I just fell in love with the campus, the girls, the culture around UNM. It’s super cool. I wouldn’t get the same thing at another university, even if I tried.”
Cisneros, a forward, said she has a small family and it was important for them — and for her — that they remain close even after she graduates from Volcano Vista.
“Being able to have them go to any game at any time is a really big benefit,” she said. She, too, has known Dyche for many years, going back to when she was 10.
“That’s what introduced me to the program. And once I went on the unofficial, being there and seeing all the girls and the way they interact with each other … there are no cliques. That’s one thing that was really big when I was looking into schools and campuses and teams. I don’t like when there’s cliques. You can talk to any girl (on the Lobo team) about anything and they’re more than happy to answer you. That’s another asset that sold me.”
Hawks coach Samantha Lucero, who this week will be trying to guide Volcano Vista into its first state title game since 2012 and first championship since 2010, was well aware of this trio’s exploits at the club level before high school.
“I have club coach friends and they were telling me about them,” said Lucero, whose 16-2 Hawks face No. 8 Mayfield at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the state quarterfinals. “Seeing them in action made everything real. I was happy I got to have them for four years and they were able to make magic happen.”
Bruce was the first to commit to the Lobos. Then Bruciaga, then Cisneros. National signing day is Nov. 13.
“Anytime I see them play, I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m meant for this team,’” Bruciaga said.
Volcano Vista actually has a fourth future Division I player in senior midfielder Berit Robnett, who will sign with Wyoming. Lucero said she’s pleased that the other three will be close by.
“They are all gifted soccer players,” she said. “I’m happy that they’re staying home so everyone gets a chance to see them.”
As for the tournament as a whole, Lucero’s team faces any number of potent challengers, including the three teams seeded directly behind them: No. 2 Cibola, No. 3 La Cueva and No. 4 Albuquerque High.
“We are ready and I think we’ll go in how we’ve gone into every game this year, with an attitude,” Lucero said. “My team is strong. I’m really excited to see what they can do.”
As are the three future Lobos, who’ll close this chapter of their lives sometime this week.
“These,” said Bruce, sitting at a table with Cisneros and Bruciaga right next to her, “are my favorite people.”
NOTES: The schedules for the quarterfinals in all six brackets — three girls, three boys — can be found on page B4. The semifinals are Thursday, and all six championship games are Friday. … Wednesday’s weather might be a little dicey with scattered thunderstorms, but the forecast otherwise looks good for Thursday and Friday; the second week of the event is being held Wednesday thru Friday for the second straight year because another tournament was scheduled on Saturday.