Lady Horsemen get stunning upset

Daisy Smith’s goal with 17 seconds left in the second suddendeath overtime gave the St. Michael’s girls soccer team a stunning 3-2 upset over Los Alamos on Thursday afternoon at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex.

It was the first time the Lady Horsemen beat the Class 5A Lady Hilltoppers since 2007. That year, St. Michael’s went 23-1 and won the Class 1A/3A state title. Lady Horsemen head coach Herzain Chavez wouldn’t say if this team will go that far, but a 3-0 record is a good start.

“Just a great win for us, for this team,” Chavez said. “The history between us has always been about them being the better team. They’ve got great players and they’re still the better team, but today our girls put their heart into it and got the win.”

Los Alamos (4-1) controlled the match statistically. The Lady Hilltoppers had a 24-8 advantage in shots and kept the ball in the St. Michael’s end much of the afternoon. The Lady Horsemen had leads of 1-0 and 2-1, each time having it erased when Tiana Baca scored off assists by Claire Lee.

Lee had a breakaway late in the second half that could have potentially snapped a 2-2 tie but her shot sailed high and wide past the net. She atoned for it in overtime by assisting on Smith’s game-winner.

All three goals for St. Michael’s came when the Lady Horsemen got free behind the Los Alamos defense when most of the players were crowded upfield. In all three instances, Lee was able to dribble free and get off the pass that led to the goal.

The Lady Horsemen are off until Tuesday when they host Albuquerque Hope Christian.

“Another big game for us against a team that, historically, has beaten us badly when we play them early in the year,” Chavez said.

SANTA FE PREP 10, EAST MOUNTAIN 0

Maybe the Lady Timberwolves were flat. Maybe the Blue Griffins weren’t. One thing was for sure in a nondistrict match at Sun Mountain Field: Anna Swanson was on fire. The freshman scored six goals to lead Prep (3-0-1) to an easy win.

“It was really surprising,” Prep coach Steph Coppola said. “I really didn’t expect that. The girls were just playing really well. East Mountain is a good team, a strong team.”

Sophomore Hayden Colfax added a pair of goals, while junior Lynne Robey and senior Ariane Talou each had one.

Prep gets a 19-day break before playing Taos on Sept. 19 in a District 2-1A/4A tilt at Eco Park.