Each Day this week we will discuss a new classification and the matchups being played in the first round.
First, is 4A Girls and Boys
4A Girls:
8. Robertson hosts 9. Monte Del Sol
The last time Monte Del Sol made it to the state tournament was 2011, when they faced future state champion, Sandia Prep in the first round where the Dragons lost 7-0. In 2014, Robertson earned the 3 seed and made it all the way to the state semifinal before they fell to St. Mikes. The two teams will be facing each other for the first time this season, but, the Cardinals and Dragons have matched up with many of the same teams. Monte faced a 10-1 loss to a powerful Socorro squad early on in the season, and Robertson lost 7-0 mid-way through the year. Monte beat East Mountain in overtime, while Robertson went 1-1 against the Timberwolves. 7 is the magic number for the Cardinals, as 2 players hold 7 goals so far on the season. Gabriella Montoya and Victoria Valdez will look to continue their scoring in this key state matchup. Sophomore Jaquelin Galaviz is the top scorer for the Dragons with 18 and Kadyn Wilson leads the team on assists with 11. This matchup should be a fairly even game; however, Robertson may have the upper hand as they have more experience in the state tournament.
5. Bosque hosts 12. Rehoboth Christian
Rehoboth didn’t make the state tournament cut last year, and is hoping to make their visit this year worthwhile. Last year, the Bosque Bobcats earned the 4 seed, but fell early to district opponent Sandia Prep in the quarterfinal. These district foes meet again for the third time this year. The Bobcats came out on top 10-0 in the first game. The Lynx held the Bobcats to a better game the second go around as they only lost 1-5. When it came to other games in their powerful district, Bosque fell to Hope 0-3 and 1-3, while Rehoboth lost 0-10 both times. Bosque’s biggest win came from a 1-0 victory over Sandia Prep. Rehoboth revenged themselves against Bloomfield as they won 4-2 late in the season. Senior Tyra West has lead the pack for the Lynx with 10 goals, including a goal against Bosque. Bosque has a few players with a plethora of goals this season, except eighth grader Dalis Bruce stands above the rest with 24. Genevieve Gray has 16 and Bryanna Bravo adds 10. Bosque appears to have the upper hand on this game, but anything can happen in the state tournament.
6. Taos hosts 11. Bloomfield
In 2014, the Taos Tigers fell in the quarterfinals to near town rival, St. Mikes. 2013 was the last time the Bloomfield Bobcats made it to state, where they fell in the first round. The Tigers and Bobcats face each other for the first time this year. Likewise, the only similar team the pair has on their schedule is Bosque. Bloomfield fell 0-1 and 0-6 to the Bobcats, while Taos lost 0-8. The Tigers went undefeated in district play, scoring 17 goals and allowing 5 in just 4 games. Their biggest victory came from a 2-1 win over East Mountain early on to win the Taos Sangre de Cristo Classic. Bloomfield plays in arguably the hardest district in the state, but came away with 4 wins. The Bobcats biggest win was a 3-2 revenge victory over Kirtland Central. Teagan Mosley is Bloomfield’s leading scorer with 18 goals and hopes to sneak one past the Tigers. Sophomore Cora Cannedy has knocked in an impressive 33 goals this season with an average 2.8 goals a game. If Cannedy can score, Taos has the game in the bag. However, I’m sure the Bobcats have done their homework and know that they need to stop her from scoring.
7. East Mountain hosts 10. Kirtland Central
East Mountain made it past the first round of state last year and hopes to do it again. Kirtland Central came close to upsetting Taos in 2014 when they were the 10 seed and want a shot at upsetting the 7 seed this go around. Like many other first round matchups, the Timberwolves and Broncos will meet for the first time this week. Kirtland had an impressive matchup with undefeated Socorro midway through the season as they lost to them in overtime. East Mountain fell 0-9 to Socorro in their first game. East Mountain Lost to Sandia Prep 1-5, while Kirtland lost 0-10 then 4-1. The Broncos defeated Rehoboth 3-0, which could be their best game all year. The Timberwolves beat Robertson 2-1, which could be a game that decided their seeding this year. Yvette Vallejos and Mia Santistevan score most the goals for the Timberwolves with 15 and 12 respectively, while Cassidy Pino has the most assists with 16. Nikki Begay is the main scorer for the Broncos with 15 this year. The 7 vs. 10 seed game is likely to have upsets and Kirtland may have what it takes to upset the Timberwolves.
4A Boys
8. Rehoboth hosts 9. Ruidoso
295. That’s the number of miles the Ruidoso Warriors have to travel to face the Rehoboth Lynx in the first round of this year’s state tournament, which will be their first meeting this season. Ruidoso last saw state action in 2013, where they lost to Santa Fe Prep in the first round. Rehoboth last saw the state tournament in 2012, where they made it to the semifinals. The Lynx lost to East Mountain 2-3, while the Warriors beat them 3-2 and 5-2. Their only other common opponent is Socorro, whom they both lost to. Christian Jaquez and Ben Kruis lead Rehoboth in scoring with 18 and 13 respectively and both hold 15 assists so far this year. Andres Aguirre has 7 for the Warriors. This should be an evenly matched game, where we could possibly see an upset.
5. Hope Christian hosts 12. Bloomfield
The Huskies and Bobcats meet once again, this time for bigger stakes. Hope has 3-0 and 9-3 wins over Bloomfield and will come into this game confident they will win. The Huskies are coming off a 0-2 loss to 5A Farmington, however, they have their 1-1 tie to Sandia Prep engraved in their mind and they believe they can do anything. The Bobcats have lost their last 5 games, and haven’t won since the first of October where they crushed Cortez, Colorado. Last season, Hope made it all the way to the semifinal as the 5 seed and hope to repeat that. Bloomfield lost in the quarterfinals of the 2013 state tournament. With 24 goals, Senior Samuel Gutierrez leads the Bobcats in scoring. Edgar Fonseca is next in line with 11 goals and 10 assists. Senior Avery Serda has 18 goals, while Freshman Steven Lee has 15 goals and 11 assists for the Huskies. Hope has the upper hand on this game and it doesn’t appear that they want to lose.
6. Hatch Valley hosts 11. Monte Del Sol
Last year, Monte Del Sol knocked on Sandia Prep’s door as they faced a 2-3 loss to the Sundevils in the quarterfinals. Hatch Valley faced a tough loss to future state champion Santa Fe Prep in the same round. Hatch and Monte have met once this season, with Bears coming out on top 4-1. The Bears tied district champion, Socorro and 6A Santa Fe to add great games to their record. As for Monte Del Sol, the Dragons are on a 3 game winning streak, last losing by just 1 to district champion, Santa Fe Prep. Esteban Quintero is tearing up his junior year for the Dragons, as he has knocked in 25 goals so far, including the only goal the Dragons scored against Hatch. On the Bears side, Freshman Jose Lopez is killing it with 23 goals and 11 assists. If these two players can get going, we may have a scoring frenzy on our hands.
7. Santa Fe Prep hosts 10. NMMI
The 2014 state champions, Santa Fe Prep had a rough start this year, not getting a win until their sixth game. NMMI, who lost in the quarterfinals last year, didn’t earn a win until their third game. The two have not played each other this year, but have a mutual opponent in East Mountain. The Colts destroyed the Timberwolves 6-1 and 8-2, while the Griffins lost to them in overtime. Prep beat Portales, while NMMI split with the Rams this year. Senior Adam Weyhrauch has 14 goals so far this season for the Griffins, while Patrick Boyd has 12. Everado Ahumada Verdugo once again leads NMMI in scoring with 22 goals. This will be a fun first round match up to keep an eye on. NMMI has the potential to win if Verdugo can score a few, however, Weyhrauch doesn’t want to go out early after knowing what gold tastes like.
