No sweat for the Bulldogs this time
Albuquerque High wallops Rio Grande to improve record to 8-2
This was not the game the Albuquerque High School girls soccer team was expecting.
Not that the Bulldogs are complaining.
Rio Grande had, over the past couple of years, proved to be a sticky opponent for AHS on occasion. Enough of one that Bulldogs coach Natasha Lee was slightly concerned as the Ravens paid a visit on Wednesday afternoon.
In that vein, AHS’ 9-0 whitewash of Rio Grande caught most everyone off guard, including Lee.
“Yeah, the girls played their game. They played calm and collected, and they used the field to their advantage,” said Lee after this District 5-5A matchup. “And they played like the cohesive team that they are.”
The longtime rivals were former district partners in the old Class 6A and are still district partners in the new 5A. The Bulldogs (8-2, 3-0 in 5-5A) dominated from the start, led by sophomore sensation Zaria Katesigwa.
She had a hat trick in the victory, giving her 15 goals for the season. She scored 33 in her freshman season.
“Every game, we show how we’re improving,” said Katesigwa. “Our chemistry … we are really close, and we’re like a family out there.”
Tatyannah Wiley added two goals and an assist in the win, and Natalia Sanchez had a goal and two assists.
The Bulldogs expect to battle with Sandia for supremacy in 5-5A over the next month.
“There are a few things we still need to work on,” Lee said. “But they do have what it takes to go far, let’s say that.” Rio Grande, which won 12 games in 2016 and then 2017 but failed to earn an invitation to the state tournament, fell to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in district. MERAZ-FISHBEIN UPDATE: AHS is having to get by without one of the school’s best athletes, Alisa Meraz-Fishbein, who decided to focus solely on her running during her senior year after doing soccer and cross country last fall.
Meraz-Fishbein told the Journal on Wednesday that she has already made an official visit to the University of Utah, and has another official visit planned this weekend to Syracuse.
She said she also plans to take an official visit to the University of Colorado. She will visit defending national CC champion New Mexico, but unofficially as it would leave her an extra official visit somewhere else should she decide to take one.
Meraz-Fishbein will compete in next weekend’s Albuquerque Metro Championships.