Blue Griffins want to erase late-season mistake
It was almost perfect. Almost. The 2017 girls soccer season was magical for Santa Fe Prep, as the program took giant steps in returning as a Class 1A/4A (now 1A/3A) power. But that last misstep lingered for an offseason.
When Socorro’s Consuelo Alvarado sent Danielle Moore’s crossing pass into the lower left corner of the net in the 93rd minute for a 2-1 Lady Warriors win in the state semifinals in November, it not only upended the Blue Griffins’ dreams of playing in the state championship game, but marred their undefeated record.
The Blue Griffins haven’t yet removed that stain from their memory — it merely serves as motivation for redemption.
“Our mentality has been, ‘That’s not going to happen again,’ ” senior Taylor Lincoln said. “We’re going to work as hard as we can to make sure that we make it to that state final.”
The pieces are in place to make that happen. The Blue Griffins lost only three players to graduation, and this year’s team is senior-dominant (six dot the roster). Prep also returns its top three scorers (sophomore Anna Swanson, senior Lynn Robey and junior Hayden Colfax) plus sophomore goalkeeper Allison Kice.
Now, if the team can make it through the season relatively healthy … Oops. Colfax is out for at least the first half of the season with a stress fracture in her leg, but all that means is an opportunity for a Blue Griffin to step into that role and keep momentum moving forward. The offseason showed that some of the players have grown.
Senior Abby Stranahan said one area Prep worked on was its strength and conditioning to
help them withstand the three-matches-in-three-days grind that is the postseason. It hurt the Blue Griffins in the semifinal match against Socorro, as one player was already out with an injury and they lost two more in the semifinal, while Colfax played despite a bout of appendicitis.
“It’s really focused on building up our muscles, especially the ones that are less developed that are there to catch us if something does get messed up,” Stranahan said. “We’re going to be very strong.”
It certainly will be needed because District 2-1A/3A will be stronger than it has been in years. The additions of Albuquerque’s Sandia Prep and Bosque School gives 2-1A/3A three of the four semifinalists from last year, plus there is St. Michael’s lurking in the background to offer another stiff challenge.
The days of simply preparing for the two matchups against the Lady Horsemen will no longer suffice to win the district title, but the Blue Griffins are looking forward to playing more meaningful matches in September and October than in the past.
“We won’t always be beating teams 10-0 like we did last year,” Robey said. “We’ll have a more competitive schedule and we’ll know our [potential state tournament] opponents before we go into state, which will be helpful.”
If Santa Fe Prep can complete its journey to the 1A/3A championship match this November, it will complete a turnaround for the group of six seniors. They were just freshmen when the Blue Griffins failed to qualify for the postseason in 2015, and they watched as Monte del Sol — the team that beat them for that spot — reach the quarterfinals.
That low point quickly turned into a rallying point, as Santa Fe Prep rebounded to reach the quarterfinals in 2016 and almost beat St. Michael’s to reach the semifinals. Then came last year, as Prep marched its way toward near-perfection before Socorro ended the season.
But not all was lost in that moment.
“We all realize that we can play at that level and we can compete against the bigger teams,” Stranahan said. “We do have what it takes. I think there is even more room to grow. Last year was not our peak. I think we have a lot more to offer and a lot more to show.”
The Blue Griffins want to show it on that final Saturday of the season.