Girls soccer: state champs in 2021 figure to be factors in '22

Aug. 24—Cibola, Hope Christian and Sandia Prep, are the defending state champions in girls soccer, and each should be in the mix to win another title this year.

CLASS 5A: Cibola opened defense of its 2021 title with a 3-0 victory Monday over Sandia in the opening round of pool play at the Albuquerque Metro Championships.

Six starters return for the Cougars, led by senior forward Brooke Volza, senior defender Joyce Sanchez and senior midfielder Ava Carpentier. Cibola graduated 70 percent of its scoring.

"So Brooke's got to pick up the slack," coach Heath Weihe said. "She's really fast, has great instinct with the ball, has great field vision."

As always, District 1-5A is stacked.

Volcano Vista (which has only two seniors) and new coach Ashley Nieder, who once played on a Hawks state championship team in 2010, got off to a brilliant start, whipping La Cueva 5-1 last week.

The Hawks already are taking advantage of the new rule in Albuquerque Public Schools that permits eighth-graders to compete on the varsity. For Volcano Vista, that is Kasey Sandoval, who already has a goal. Nieder played with Sandoval's older sister.

"I always say, we don't lose sight of where we came from," Nieder said. "(And), how do we build on that and make our mark?"

Cleveland won two games last weekend, and the Storm, with a solid group of returners "should scare a few people," coach Greg Rusk said. "I'm excited about this group."

That includes senior midfielder Arianna Barreras and junior central mid Ella Lent-Koop.

Todd Doss took over at Rio Rancho after longtime coach Uwe Balzis stepped down during the offseason. The Rams have a mix, Doss said, of seniors and a large group of younger players including four freshmen.

District 2 should feature a competitive battle between La Cueva, Eldorado and Sandia.

The Bears are off to a rugged 1-2 start, including that lopsided loss to Volcano Vista and a 3-2 loss to Albuquerque High. Longtime Bears coach Amber Ashcraft described La Cueva as a "new team."

Senior Olivia Haddock, senior forward Amber Otts and senior defender Isabella Menezes are among the top returners for the Bears. But La Cueva, which lost in the semis last season at Carlsbad, is trying to identify a No. 1 goalkeeper.

"Our biggest issue is settling down and playing as a team, because we are so new right now," Ashcraft said.

Sandia, with 15 returning players, is seeking to get back into the postseason after missing out last fall despite winning 10 of its 18 matches in the regular season.

All-State senior midfielder Jordan Candelaria, who has verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati, heads up the Sandia roster. The Matadors also have a four-year keeper in Parker Frei and a solid midfielder in junior Ayla Dils.

"We haven't been so excited in quite a while with the chances we have of going deep," Matadors coach Jay Sheraden said.

Eldorado, like Sandia, has 15 players back in the fold from the 2021 season. That group includes nine seniors. The experience and talent have coach Aaron Forrester in an optimistic mood.

Eldorado lost in the first round of state last season to Rio Rancho.

Also from District 2, Farmington, West Mesa and Piedra Vista have some catching up to do, as that trio went a combined 0-18 against La Cueva, Sandia and Eldorado in district play last year.

From District 5, AHS and coach Paul Grant are 2-0 this year and expect to challenge into November behind players like senior forward Abila Tapia, senior Yarelis Dedos-Pino and senior midfielder Karina Mendez.

"This group should be around well into November," Grant said.

Santa Fe won 19 games a season ago and was the district champion last fall and returns several of its top scorers (Jazzi Gonzalez tallied 39 goals), although the Demonettes lost in the first round of state.

Carlsbad has played in the last two 5A championship games, and the Cavegirls and Hobbs, should excel in their district. From Las Cruces, Centennial was hit hard by graduation, leaving Las Cruces High as perhaps a team to watch.

CLASS 4A: Defending champion Hope Christian, Albuquerque Academy and St. Pius, are hoping to extend this amazing streak: one of those three has won state every season since 2004. The Huskies and coach Amy Fankam won the blue trophy last November with a 2-1 victory over St. Pius in the final.

Hope brings back the majority of its impact players, including junior forward Savanah Sanchez (42 goals a year ago), senior midfielder Ashlyn Salas (one of only two seniors on the team) and junior Ravae Jaramillo, who anchors the Huskies' back line.

"I think it's hard to make sure you don't read too much of your own press," Hope coach Amy Fankam said. "There are still a lot of really talented teams to contend with."

Albuquerque Academy was the third city school to be in the 4A semifinals last season, and the Chargers feature senior forward Anna Babinski, who was a goal-scoring machine with 52 goals last year.

All-state junior midfielder Piper Wiese, daughter of head coach Andrew Wiese, returns after missing last season with a knee injury. Academy also has a pair of excellent goalkeepers.

"I'm very bullish," coach Wiese said. "We're very young ... (they) will be important to us moving forward, and I'm cautiously optimistic."

St. Pius had a coaching change in the offseason, with Abby Tarin taking over from David Sulivan Jr. Tarin is a former St. Pius player and was an assistant coach with the Sartans the last three years.

Some players to watch include senior forward Natasha Montoya, who led the team in scoring last season (20 goals), plus senior goalkeeper Gianna Maldonado, junior midfielder Taylor Wilson and sophomore defender Rina Suarez. Rina's older sister, Eva, one of St. Pius' key players, is lost for the season after a summer injury.

The strongest challenger to St. Pius in its district is likely Valencia, which also qualified for state last season and reached the quarterfinals. Los Alamos, which was in the final four last year, is led by senior Tara McDonald. She had 30 goals for the Hilltoppers.

CLASS 1A-3A: Sandia Prep had a 1-0 win over St. Michael's in the state final last November, and coach Matt Westerlund is quick to point out that the Sundevils' roster of 2021 is virtually identical to the Sundevils' roster of 2022. Only one, non-starting senior graduated.

Sandia Prep and St. Pius open the season against each other on Thursday.

"That really is the thing, trying to put challenges to them and not get complacent," Westerlund said.

His team's three losses last season came to the 4A semifinalists from Albuquerque — Academy, St. Pius and Hope.

Maddie Hashagen, who scored the game-winner in the championship game, led the Sundevils in goals last season with 24. Mika Juan, Kiran Hill and Rylie Elison also reached double figures in goals. Georgia Williams was all-state in goal for Sandia Prep; she had three playoff shutouts in the playoffs.