Blue Griffins top Lady Horsemen

Every six years — almost on the dot — a Blue Griffins uprising happens with their longtime district girls soccer rival St. Michael’s. On Sept. 30, 2005, Ana Chamberlain scored in the 72nd minute to upend the Lady Horsemen, 1-0.

On Oct. 1, 2011, Dawson Nance had the winning shootout goal and Sarah Simis made two saves to lead Santa Fe Prep to a 2-1 win.

On Saturday morning — Sept. 30, 2017 — Prep once again gained the upperhand over its 2-1A/4A rival, and right on time. Anna Swanson scored four goals, and Lynn Robey added another and recorded a pair of assists as the Blue Griffins beat St. Michael’s 5-3 at Sun Mountain Field.

The common thread in each win is this: they all happened on a Saturday.

As if there needed to be more icing on this celebratory cake, Prep ended a 57-match district winning streak by the Lady Horsemen (8-5, 2-1) that started after the 2011 loss to the Blue Griffins.

This match, though had none of the drama that the other two wins did as the Blue Griffins roared to a 4-0 lead at the half behind Swanson’s four goals. She wasn’t done for the day, as Swanson assisted Robey on Prep’s final goal. Angelina Fredericks also had an assist to round out the superlatives for Prep (7-0-1 overall, 3-0).

“The tandem between Anna and Lynn was really strong,” Blue Griffins head coach Steph Coppola said. “We attacked early out of the first whistle and had a really good first half.”

Even though St. Michael’s scored three times after the break, the damage was already done.

“We rallied and put pressure on them,” St. Michael’s head coach Gerzain Chavez said. “The second half was ours, but it was too late by then.”

MONTE DEL SOL 7, POJOAQUE VALLEY 0

The Lady Dragons put a nice finish on a rough week, as Adilene Chacon also had four goals to lead her team past the Elkettes in a 2-1A/4A match at the Municipal Recreation Complex rugby field.

Monte del Sol had been outscored 19-0 in losses to Santa Fe Prep and Taos earlier this week, but jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the half. Nicolette Perez added a pair of goals and sweeper Natalia Valles come from her back line spot to knock in the final goal in the second half.

India Nixon, the Lady Dragons head coach, also praised the play of sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Alarcon as she stepped in for senior Ali Castillo after the break.

“She had some beautiful saves and was super aggressive with the ball,” Nixon said. “Ali has really mentored her for the past two years.”

BOYS SOCCER SANTA FE PREP 6, ST. MICHAEL’S 1

The Blue Griffins continued to dig themselves out of the 0-2-2 hole to start the season, as Henry Barliant scored a pair of goals, and Trevor Wilson had a goal and two assists to lead the way.

Wilson scored two minutes into the 2-1A/4A match and Elliot Thornburg added another goal just five minutes later as Prep (5-2-2, 5-0) built a 3-0 lead at the half. Prep head coach Hersch Wilson, no relation to Patrick, said the play of Barliant has been crucial to the turnaround.

“Henry has just really matured in the midfield for us,” Wilson said.

Sophomore Esteban Rigales got the Horsemen on the scoreboard in the second half off an assist from Sam Baca, but it was all St. Michael’s (5-5-2, 2-2) could muster.

“It was a disappointing day for us, and Prep was clearly the better team [Saturday],” Horsemen head coach Mike Feldewert said.

MONTE DEL SOL 1, POJOAQUE VALLEY 0

Fritz Rothdach declared the 2017 season over after Prep’s 10-0 win in 2-1A/4A play on Thursday, and charted a new path for the Dragons against the Elks at the MRC rugby field.

“From here on out, winning or losing, we are going to play soccer the way it should be played,” said the Monte del Sol head coach, “by passing the ball and not relying on our seniors, by working as a team and using the space.”

Rothdach said the Dragons possessed the ball about 40 percent to 50 percent of the match, and Moises Cerda scored the lone goal in the 35th minute.

Monte del Sol improved to 6-6-1 overall, 2-4 in district play, while Pojoaque fell to 3-7, 0-4.

VOLLEYBALL SANTA FE PREP 3, RATON 0

The Blue Griffins day started early — they were on the bus by 9 a.m. — and ended late as they had to wait out a thunderstorm outside of Pecos on the return portion of the trip. At least a 25-19, 25-21, 25-16 nondistrict win over the undefeated Lady Tigers made it worth it. Prep moved to 8-4 with the win.

ABQ. LA CUEVA 3, SANTA FE HIGH 0

The Lady Bears showed why they are the topranked team in Class 6A, according to the New Mexico OverTime SportsCenter coaches poll, sweeping the Demonettes 25-12, 25-16, 25-12 in a District 2-6A match in Albuquerque.

Adonica Baca-Martinez led Santa Fe High (6-6, 0-2) with nine kills, while Salome Romp had eight. Ysabella Trujillo had 20 assists and three digs.

From Friday:

VOLLEYBALL REHOBOTH 3, DESERT ACADEMY 1

The Lady Wildcats’ struggles continued, as the Lady Lynx rolled to a 17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 nondistrict win in Larson Gymnasium at the New Mexico School for the Deaf campus.

Michaela Glinsky led Desert Academy (2-7) with 13 kills, while Natalie Nathanson added 12 while also recording 12 points off of her serve. Gailey Scarborough had 26 assists and Beatrice Lowe added 10 digs.

SFIS 3, EAST MOUNTAIN 1

The Lady Braves were short handed with their middle hitters for a variety of reasons, but they still had Sierra Shoals, who had 15 kills to lead them past the Lady Timberwolves 23-25, 25-11, 25-22, 25-21 in a District 5-4A match at Sandia Park.

Teya Ruben added 14 kills, and Marlena Yazzie dished out 32 assists and two digs.

“We did well,” SFIS head coach Brian Gurule said. “It was a big crowd here, and it had a big tournament environment. But they handled it and we got by.”

SFIS improved to 7-5, 1-1 in district.

MONTE DEL SOL 3, CIMARRON 1

The Lady Dragons gained a measure of revenge against the Lady Rams, beating them 25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 25-12 in a nondistrict match in Genoveva Chavez Community Center after losing to them in Cimarron’s tournament earlier in September.

Talia Flaherty had 11 kills, 14 service points and a block, while Vianey Garcia had five kills and nine service points. Lizbeth Nava controlled the offense with 17 assists, while recording three aces and a kill.

Monte del Sol improved to 6-4 on the season.