Demons’ domination continues at Prep
The Santa Fe High Demons boys soccer team keep rolling sevens. For the third straight match, they scored seven goals on their way to another nondistrict win Tuesday. Three players had a pair of goals to lead Santa Fe High to a commanding 7-0 win over Santa Fe Prep at Sun Mountain Field to improve to 4-1.
After finishing the Sangre de Cristo Classica in Taos by beating Pojoaque Valley 7-0 and Miyamura 7-1, the Demons continued their offensive onslaught by controlling possession and setting up their strikers for solid opportunities.
Kiran Smelser, Sebastian Valenzuela and Matt Hunter each had a pair of goals, while Jorge Lozano added goal.
Santa Fe High continues its six-match road trip, as it heads to Moriarty for a match at 3 p.m. Friday.
Santa Fe Prep fell to 0-3.
GIRLS SOCCER ST. MICHAEL’S 10, TAOS 0
Claire Lee continued her scoring assault as she collected a career-high five goals in a dominating performance against the Lady Tigers in a nondistrict match at Christian Brothers Athletic Complex.
Lee went from fourth on the team in goals to first with eight.
Otherwise, the youth movement carried the day. Freshman Grace Sandoval had a pair of goals, sophomore Rachel Morgan added another score, eighth-grader Gabby Farrar scored her first varsity goal and sophomore Frances Schneider had a pair of assists.
No to be forgotten, junior Daisy Smith had a goal and two assists.
St. Michael’s improved to 4-0-1, while Taos fell to 1-1-1.
VOLLEYBALL SANTA FE HIGH 3, TAOS 0
As good as the opening act was for the Demonettes, Act 2 was even better.
Santa Fe High (2-0) committed just one service error and Ainsley Reynolds-Smith continued to develop into a strong presence in the middle with 14 kills in a 25-9, 25-12, 25-12 sweep in Otero Gym.
Salome Romp had 11 kills, while Laila Bernadino added seven. Alyssa Sandoval was strong at the service line, scoring 18 service points with nine in a row to go with three aces.
“We mowed them over,” Santa Fe High head coach Josie Adams said. “We ran a lot of plays. It was exciting. Our offense was fast and our serving was great.”
ESCALANTE 3, SANTA FE PREP 1
The Blue Griffins rolled into Tierra Amarilla just a few minutes before the 6 p.m. first serve and barely had enough time to warm up for their nondistrict match. It showed as Prep struggled with its serve and Lady Lobos took advantage of that to win, 25-20, 20-25, 27-25, 25-19, and improve to 3-0.
Kiran Bhakta, Prep head coach, said it was an invaluable lesson for his young team to learn.
“Sometimes, we have no control over those situations,” Bhakta said. “We have to learn how to maintain our composure and fight through some adversity.”
Raelyn Gonzales had 14 kills, eight digs and three aces, while Daisy Cunningham added eight kills and six digs. Sophomore setter India Cunningham had 17 assists, 14 digs and a block. Rafaella Marks chipped in with eight digs and an ace.
Prep takes a 10-day break before playing at Santa Fe High’s Tournament of Champions on Sept. 14-15.
LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON 3, POJOAQUE VALLEY 1
The Elkettes had their chances, but their serving betrayed them at key times as the Lady Cardinals opened their season with a 21-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-22 nondistrict win in Michael Marr Gymnasium.
Pojoaque head coach Joe Rodriguez said missed serves at key moments prevented his team from taking advantage of good defense.
“We were missing four or five serves in each game,” Rodriguez said. “And a lot of them were on first serves [after forcing a side out].”
Adrianna Quintana had 27 assists, while Alyssa Rodriguez collected 37 digs and four aces. Espy Torres led the Elkettes (1-1) with eight kills, while Ashten Martinez and Camille Cordova each had seven.
The Elkettes head to Santa Fe Indian School on Thursday for a 6 p.m. match.