Monte del Sol soars at state
Monte freshman Lozoya scores three, beating St. Michael’s to advance to semifinal match against Robertson 3 Monte 3 6 St. Mike’s 1
ASANTA ANA PUEBLO xel Lozoya is dreaming big because his brother dared to dream big before him.
Monte del Sol’s freshman midfielder knew he had big shoes to fill, considering the accolades Luis Lozoya achieved during his time as a Dragon. Big brother set a then-program scoring record of 28 goals as a senior in 2013 as he helped the Dragons to the Class 1A/3A semifinals as a junior. Oh, and he also scored two goals in his final prep boys soccer match — a 3-2 loss to Albuquerque Sandia Prep in 2013.
On Wednesday, Axel Lozoya helped the Dragons match their best performance in the state tournament and one-upped his brother in the process. He recorded a hat trick to help lead third-seeded Monte del Sol to a 3-1 win over St. Michael’s in a 1A/3A quarterfinal at the New Mexico Soccer Tournament Complex. The win advances the Dragons (14-3-1) to a semifinal matchup against Las Vegas Robertson, which beat Albuquerque Bosque School 2-0 to reach its first semifinal in program history.
Axel Lozoya said his brother provided all the motivation he needed.
“I do this for him,” the younger Lozoya said. “I’m gonna go higher than what he did to make him proud, because I know we can do what they couldn’t.”
The performance against the Horsemen (13-8-1), who played the Dragons to a 1-all tie Sept. 7, was just the start. Lozoya scored on a penalty kick in the 34th minute after St. Michael’s was called for a foul in the penalty box, which tied the score at 1-all.
Fourteen minutes into the second half, Lozoya set up for a direct kick from about 45 yards on the left flank. He intended to simply send the ball into the penalty box for his teammates to chase, but he lofted it far enough that it sailed over Horsemen goalkeeper Isaiah Vigil, and not even his last-minute deflection could stop it from going into the goal for a 2-1 lead for Monte del Sol.
“I tried to put it in the box, but it came out,” Lozoya said.
His final goal, though, was a thing of beauty as he took a corner kick in the 60th minute and curved it into the upper right corner of the goal — just as he envisioned it.
“I’ve practiced that the whole season,” Lozoya said. “I tried it against
Desert Academy, but it didn’t work.”
Monte del Sol head coach Fritz Rothdach was especially proud of his freshman’s performance because it was something he knew Lozoya had in him. It also came at a point in time when opponents focused their defensive attention on junior Moises Cerda, who had 28 goals coming into the match.
“He didn’t have a perfect game yet, and I said, ‘You got to do it,’ ” Rothdach said. “And he did it. That’s what’s evolved. Moises had a few chances, but it didn’t happen. So, you have to have that depth of people stepping up and scoring.”
Horsemen head coach Mike Feldewert tipped his cap to the Dragons, who he said made the most of their opportunities.
“We had gotten that early goal, and we had a few chances,” Feldewert said. “Their ’keeper [Noel Puentes] made a fabulous save early on a free kick. So, when you get a PK like that, it puts you back in the game, but it’s still just oneone at halftime. What you saw today were two teams that were evenly matched, and we had our chances. They had their chances.”
Lozoya made the most of his chances, and it has the Dragons on the doorstep of championship dreams.
NO. 2 LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON 2, NO. 7 ABQ. BOSQUE SCHOOL 0
The scouting report was pretty straightforward on the Cardinals: Stop senior forward T.J. Trujillo and junior midfielder Musah Dumbia.
The Bobcats (13-9) did that for much of the 1A/3A quarterfinal, but all it took was one pass from Trujillo to sophomore Joel Curtis for that doubt to creep in on their tactic. Curtis clanged his shot in the penalty box off the post midway through the second half, but it was enough to create the necessary space for the state’s top two goal scorers to do their thing.
“When they saw we were passing and getting opportunities to score without them, it forced them to changed their game plan,” said Cardinals head coach Bryan Trujillo.
Two minutes later, Dumbia lofted a direct kick just outside the box toward the upper right of the goal, but it hit the side post. Trujillo, though, swooped in and redirected the ball into the open net for a 1-0 lead. The Bobcats missed on a couple of opportunities from Raymond Sanchez Jr. and a header by Cristian Fontana that sailed over the net in the 70th minute.
Dumbia capped the scoring with a penalty kick goal on the final play of the match.
The Cardinals (14-5) own a 2-0 win over the Dragons on Sept. 29, but neither Trujillo nor Dumbia scored.