Bitter end for undefeated Blue Griffins
Socorro finds back of net in second overtime after missed opportunities in regulation 1-1 stalemate
BERNALILLO — Sometimes, it pays just to be there. Lady Luck has no rhyme or reason for bestowing her favor upon one player over another; it’s just the combination of happenstance and preparation. Socorro midfielder Consuelo Alvarado just made a suggestion to teammate Danielle Moore — let’s switch positions.
So, it was Alvarado who happened to be in the middle of the field, in front of the Santa Fe Prep goal, when Moore sent in her crossing pass in the 93rd minute of the Class 1A/4A girls soccer semifinal Friday afternoon at the Bernalillo Soccer Complex.
It sailed in front of a couple of Blue Griffins defenders before finding its way to an open Alvarado — with an open net to greet her. When she slotted the shot into the lower left corner of the goal, past a diving Allison Kice, Alvarado ensured the Lady Warriors a spot in the 1A/4A championship match on Saturday after a 2-1 win over the previously undefeated and topseeded Prep.
It represents the first state title appearance for Socorro (16-4), which has been one of the top programs in the state over the past five years. It just got lost in the glut of private school domination, primarily Albuquerque schools Bosque School, Sandia Prep and Hope Christian, along with northern representatives St. Michael’s and Santa Fe Prep.
Alvarado found the moment satisfying, considering the work the team has put in since August.
“It’s been very frustrating the past few years,” Alvarado said. “Sometimes, it seems like we can’t put it together.”
For one afternoon, though, the Lady Warriors finally did.
What started with a defensive slugfest became a battle of missed opportunities for both sides. The teams combined for 30 shots, with the majority of them coming in the final 30 minutes of regulation and the 13 minutes of extra time.
Blue Griffins head coach Steph Coppola said she adjusted her formation, pushing up an extra forward for a stronger offensive presence, to force the issue.
“We wanted to go for the win,” Coppola said. “I didn’t really think about going to PKs [a penalty-kick shootout]. You don’t want to play like that.”
She couldn’t complain about the opportunities. In the 77th minute, Anna Swanson had a direct kick just outside the left side of the penalty box, and her shot glanced the top of the goalpost and slid off.
In the final minute of the first overtime, Lark O’Hora crossed a pass to Swanson at the top of the box, and her shot sailed right to Socorro keeper Mary Barela — the last of 13 saves for the senior.
“Oh my gosh, Mary stepped up so many times on this state tournament so far,” Socorro head coach Mike Olguin said.
Santa Fe Prep (15-1-1) managed to sneak one shot past Barela, in the 54th minute when Lynn Robey took a through-ball from Swanson and lofted a shot just inside the middle of the box over the charging Socorro goalie to tie the score at 1-all.
That score came just two minutes after the Lady Warriors broke
the scoreless tie when freshman midfielder Elise Madril drilled a shot on a direct kick that grazed the bottom of the top post and bounced into the net. Coppola said the goal seemed to wake up her team, which played cautiously, if not tentatively, until that point.
“It was just the experience, and we didn’t manage ourselves very well,” Coppola said. “We were so anxious about things and sending up a lot of 50-50 balls. Every time you chase after a 50-50 ball, you lose what you have in your legs to come back and make that shot or to get that tackle off.”
A shrinking bench also concerned Coppola, as she started the match without Angelina Fredericks, who was injured in a 3-1 win Thursday over Moriarty. Then, Robey sat out much of the first half with a headache, and Casey Chandler left in the 33rd minute after dislocating her jaw when she fell to the ground battling for a loose ball. Hayden Colfax played through appendicitis for the entire 93 minutes.
In the end, though, Prep simply made too many errors in the back line and gave Socorro one more chance to make history for its program. The aftermath saw most of the players sitting on the ground, sobbing, or consoling each other after almost making the finals for the first time since 2005.
Only three seniors dot the roster, and the middle school program is beginning to develop talent after it went defunct several years ago.
Coppola feels her team earned its stripes on this trip. She wants them to earn something more next November.
“You don’t usually step into a championship without being there first,” Coppola said. “You got to get a whiff of it.”
The Lady Warriors knew that smell all too well.
They just wanted to finally know what a championship tastes like.
You don’t usually step into a championship without being there first. You got to get a whiff of it.” Steph Coppola, Santa Fe Prep head coach