Santa Fe Prep soccer boys get a tough test from visiting Taos

St. Michael’s shuts out visiting Pojoaque, Santa Fe High, Capital lose at home. Griffins win 5-3, Horsemen 7-0, while Demons fall 2-1 in overtime to La Cueva and Jaguars 3-0 to AlbuquerqueAcademy, all in respective district matches Tuesday

By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today

With no other matches in between, first place Santa Fe Prep and St. Michael’s prepared for Monday afternoon’s District 2/1A-4A boy’s soccer match at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex with victories Tuesday afternoon.

The Griffins advanced to 9-2-2 overall and remained undefeated in nine district matches. Visiting Taos were a bit pesky at Sun Mountain Field, coming back from a 2-0 first half deficit to force a 3-3 deadlock in the second half.

Threatened, Prep responded by scoring twice in the final 10 minutes. Prior to that, the Tigers had cut the gap to 2-1, and after tying it, they took a 3-2 lead on a goal from Patrick Penso in the 47th minute.

In the 62nd minute, Griffin senior Elliot Thornberg tied it and senior Harrison Miller untied with a goal in the 68th minute. Junior Luke Stein kicked in the insurance goal off a corner kick.

St. Michael’s had no problems from visiting Pojoaque Valley, scoring a 7-0 win. The rout was led by two goals each from sophomore Wesley Graham and senior Sam Baca, and Graham added a pair of assist.

The Horsemen began the scoring when senior Wyatt Hoyle found the goal in the 8th minute on an assist from sophomore Esteban Rigales. Despite injuries, they are 7-6-2 overall and 4-3 in district. But a victory over Prep would go a long way.

“We played well defensively across the board,” said head coach Mike Felderwert, “and it’s good to beat the teams that we should be beating.”

At Capital High, the Jaguars fell, 3-0, to first place Albuquerque Academy, and it was a damaging blow to their winning District 2-5A as they fell to an unprecedented 1-3 in district and 11-5-1 overall. The Chargers are 4-0 in district and 11-4-2 overall.

At Santa Fe High, first place Albuquerque La Cueva edged the Demons, 2-1, in overtime to move to 6-0-1 in 2-6A and 11-0-4 overall. Santa Fe High dropped to 6-9-1 overall and 1-6 in district. It was its third defeat in a row.

At Albuquerque Del Norte, Los Alamos had an unexpected struggle before departing with a 4-2 victory. The Chargers are now 3-1 in district and 13-5 overall, while the Knights slipped to 0-4 in district and 3-11-2 overall.

At Las Vegas Robertson, the Cardinals turned back Monte del Sol, 3-1, and are now 6-1 in 2/1A-4A and 9-6 overall. For the Dragons, they now stand at 6-9-1 in district and 3-6 in district.