Atrisco, Highland, Hope boys all win on road
No. 1 Cibola girls beat Rams yet again
Three road teams from Albuquerque had upset victories on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the boys state soccer tournament.
Atrisco Heritage, a 12 seed in Class 5A, advanced to the semifinals, as did No. 5 Hope Christian and No. 6 Highland in the 4A bracket.
CLASS 4A: No. 2 seed Albuquerque Academy joined the Huskies, Hornets and No. 1 Lovington in Wednesday’s semifinals.
The Wildcats will play host to Hope (these two also met in the semis in Lovington in the spring season), and the Hornets will visit the Chargers.
Academy (13-6) scored all its goals in the second half, including two within 20 seconds of each other in the 75th and 76th minutes to break a 2-2 tie as the Chargers escaped with a 4-2 win over visiting St. Pius, the 10 seed.
Senior Neven Zapatka’s penalty kick goal in the 75th minute broke the 2-all tie — this just two minutes after Elijah Barela of the Sartans (9-12-1) squared the game on a nearly 50-yard long direct kick.
Oliver Kumar’s nifty assist to Zapatka led to an insurance goal 20 seconds later.
“At halftime, we talked about putting goals away and I think we kind of came to our senses, that there’s 40 minutes left in our season,” Zapatka said. “If we don’t get it, we go home.”
Zapatka had a hat trick for defending state champion Academy. His goal in the 73rd minute game Academy a 2-1 lead, but it was his penalty, when he went low and left, that was the game-winner.
“I mean, he’s just been in beast mode the last couple of weeks, and you can tell, he wants to finish out this senior year with a bang,” Chargers coach Laney Kolek said.
Hope Christian (16-4-1) and Highland (14-4-2) both won 1-0 on the road Saturday. The Hornets upset No. 3 Los Alamos, while the Huskies beat No. 4 Santa Teresa.
Sophomore Faber Cardenas scored the game-winner for Highland, in the eighth minute. He delivered a free kick into the
upper left corner for a goal from about 25 yards out.
“It was just as good as it gets,” Hive coach Nick Madrid said. “The Los Alamos goalie is top notch, but he didn’t even get his fingertips on it. It was that perfect.”
In goal, junior Diego Ortega had six saves for Highland.
At Santa Teresa, senior Ben Adkins’ goal in the 38th minute was the game-winner. Brenden McMurry’s corner went to the far part of the frame, where Josh Kelshaw headed it back toward the center, and Adkins scored from point blank range.
Freshman Cody Guggino had 15 saves for the Huskies.
“They applied a ton of pressure,” Hope coach Steve Kokulis said. “Santa Teresa is very quick and very athletic, and we were fortunate to get out with a win.”
CLASS 5A: The magical lateseason run of Atrisco Heritage (12-8) continued as the Jaguars prevailed 2-1 in OT at No. 4 Hobbs.
It was senior Stefan Molinar’s left-footed goal through traffic
that won it for the Jags in the 83rd minute. Atrisco Heritage advances to Wednesday’s semifinals at No. 1 seed Santa Fe.
Adrian Vega’s cross set up the winning goal for Molinar, who collected possession with his right foot before shooting with his other foot.
The other 5A boys semi is No. 3 Sandia against No. 2 La Cueva.
CLASS 3A-1A: No. 1 seed Sandia Prep (19-2) was minus its two leading scorers, but the Sundevils (192) easily dispatched Tierra Encantada, 7-2 in the quarterfinals.
Sandia Prep next gets district rival Bosque School, in the semifinals on Tuesday. The Sundevils beat the Bobcats in a contentious state final in the spring season, and twice more this season.
Three goals in the first nine minutes set the tone Saturday for Sandia Prep. Tyler Volzer and Chad Cordova scored two goals apiece for the Sundevils.
“I’m not very happy with the performance, to be honest with you,” Smith said. “We’ll have to play much better against Bosque.”
Finn Saunders and Leighton Dellabarca, who have combined for 44 goals, both are expected back Tuesday, Smith said.