GIRLS A-3A SOCCER QUARTERFINALS

The usual post-game hand shakes and high fives by the two teams was a little different after St. Michael’s girls soccer team again dominated Santa Fe Prep at Friday afternoon‘s 1A/3A state quarterfinals played at borrowed St. John’s College Sun Mountain Field.

First of all the Griffins had nothing to do with the Lady Horsemen having to forfeit two games and then being declared the actual district champion, and they let St. Michael’s know it.

Names weren’t needed, but a number of the Prep players and coaches were quick to inform the Lady Horsemen that they are best in the district by far.

“Good job,” said Griffins junior midfielder/forward Lusa Hirsch-Arnett, “Good luck.”

Much appreciated, but the real concern for St. Michael’s under interim coach Alexa Chavez was its head coach Alfonso Camarena having been told by the school athletic department that he needed to resign after he failed to report two ineligible team 8th-graders that he said was news back in June but he never received the needed paperwork.

This one was another blow out over Prep, 4-0, after it had hope when it trailed only 1-0 at the half, except that St. Michael’s had a dozen first half shots and the Griffins had none. This followed up on the initial match at St. Michael’s when it came away with 25 shots and allowed but three, but then hit with the forfeit. In the return visit, it was 5-0 Lady Horsemen and they had a 26-3 advantage on shots.

But at least Prep had some hope in trailing 1-0, but didn’t get a goal shot in the final minutes of the match when St. Michael’s senior goaltender Jacquelin Gorman stopped a penalty shot that was the Griffins’ only shot at a goal while the Lady Horsemen finished with 28 shots.

“We were so happy,” said Sandoval, “to see coach Alfonso and his wife Gabby across the way with the other St. Michael’s fans. We weren’t worried about winning this, and it was to be for him.”

If Prep had any hope it disappeared in the second half. Boom, boom, boom, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, as red-hot Sandoval led the scoring, her first goal off an assist from rising freshman Sophia Miera at 20:37. The next goal came from junior midfielder/defender Jada Lujan, with junior midfielder/forward Tara Schneider assisting in the 61st minute of the second half.

At 68:30, it was Sandoval again off an assist from Lujan. Schneider wound up with the final tally in the 79th minute via an assist from 8th-grader Mia Tokoroyama. Also instrumental in another team effort for the blue and white was senior defender/fullback Logan Hunt, junior defender/midfielder Cameren Gantt, and Miera played as a ‘point guard’ cutting down the corner and dishing off the ball, as well as taking the ball up field against a defense that had no answer for her.

She later said, “Point guard,” yeah, I like that, I want to play basketball anyway.”

The Lady Horsemen will play the winner of today’s state quarterfinals between top-ranked Albuquerque Sandia Prep and 8th-ranked Rehoboth Chrisitan on Tuesday. More on that on the next two days. It was in last year’s state finals played at the UNM Soccer Complex that the Sundevils nipped St. Michael’s, 1-0, after the Lady Horsemen outplayed Socorro, 4-1, in the previous state final.