Saturday, October 11, 2008

Tigers, Jaguars grab exciting one-goal district wins

Los Lunas boys win twice without a pair of suspended starters

From News-Bulletin reports

Needing a win to keep pace with District 5-5A leader Eldorado, the Los Lunas Tigers boys soccer team managed a critical 3-2 win on Tuesday against the visiting Highland Hornets.

A 40-yard shot by Julian Flores with about 17 minutes left in regulation turned out to be the difference in Tuesday's match. The final minutes of the physical match turned into attempts by the Tigers to play solid defense and by Highland to add enough pressure to score.

"I don't think we were very physical at all for the first 15 minutes," said LLHS coach Eliseo Aguirre after Tuesday's match. "We let them dictate the tempo. We started out in a flat-four on defense and switched to a diamond formation, and (goalkeeper) Spenser (Waquie) and theirs had some beautiful saves."

The Tigers gave up the first goal of the match in the seventh minute on a long shot by Highland's Antonio Ibarra — a shot that Waquie got a hand on before it reached the upper right corner of the net.

Gerardo Solis then scored twice for LLHS before halftime. David Linares assisted on the first one. Daniel McAda helped on the second one, where Solis drove past two Hornet defenders and beat HHS keeper Daniel Bustillos for a 2-1 lead.

"Our goals were just to keep running and pass the ball," said Solis, a sophomore.

Waquie had 10 saves in the match, while Bustillos had six. A few of Bustillos' were spectacular.

Highland (7-9, 1-3) tied the match 2-2 in the 52nd minute on a goal by Ricardo Orozco. Flores beat Bustillos with an unexpected shot from near midfield, one that sailed out of the keeper's reach and just under the crossbar.

The match was the second for the Tigers since starters Edgar Lopez-Ramos and Jonathan Cole, along with reserve goalkeeper Jose Navarro, were suspended from the team indefinitely due to an off-the-field Sept. 29 incident. Both Aguirre and LLHS athletic coordinator Albert Aragon said they were instructed by administration not to comment on the incident or the nature of the consequences.

The three players weren't allowed to suit up against Eldorado on Sept. 30, for Tuesday's Highland match or for Thursday's win at Rio Grande. Aragon said Thursday that LLHS has issued a consequence for all three players, but he was not authorized to release the details.

Lopez-Ramos, a senior, and Cole, a junior, are both among the top offensive threats for the Tigers.

Aguirre said the team can find a positive in the aftermath of that incident, as some junior varsity players are joining a winning varsity team, and some players will see more time on the field. "The beauty of this team is that it's very talented, but very young," said Aguirre. "We had about four or five players who have about four or five goals. Now, we really have to learn to play as a team."

Los Lunas 1, Rio Grande 0

At Rio Grande, Daniel McAda's crossing pass in the 35th minute of the District 5-5A contest didn't find anyone — but it did go into the net for the only goal of the match.

"It wasn't really that physical," said Los Lunas coach Eliseo Aguirre. "We started our defense in a diamond formation, then moved to a flat four with a stopper."

The Tigers (12-5 overall, 3-2 in District 5-5A) outshot the Ravens (5-9, 1-3) by a 10-3 margin, and Tiger goalkeeper Spenser Waquie earned his fourth shutout this season.

Waquie shut out a Raven team that had beaten powerhouse Eldorado 2-1 two days earlier.

Tuesday, the Tigers face an intense rival when the Manzano Monarchs come to Volunteer Field for a 3 p.m. match. When the Tigers and Monarchs met at Manzano on Sept. 25, two red cards were issued, and Los Lunas misfired on many scoring chances.

"We have to work on finishing," Aguirre said about facing Manzano. "Their midfield and offense isn't quite as organized as their defense is, but they have a few big kids, and we'e going to have to be just as aggressive as they are."

Valencia 3, Del Norte 2

There won't be any long waits for Valencia High School's first District 5-4A win, as the boys soccer team took care of that the first chance they got, edging Del Norte at home on Justin Romo's last-minute goal.

"This is the day we've been waiting for — district," Valencia coach Mauricio Enriquez said. "The team played tough, the way I expected. We never fell way behind, and we scored, which helped us to control the game. Overall, we played a real smart, intelligent game."

Romo's two-goal performance was even more remarkable because the sophomore had been playing on junior varsity and was recently brought up to varsity.

"We're borrowing JV players because we're real thin on varsity," Enriquez said. "But I know that he's capable. He's a good player."

The Knights struck first with a goal in the 22nd minute, when Bo Garcia took a pass and fired a shot from just outside the penalty box that beat Jaguar goalkeeper Misael Chavez to the bottom left corner of the net.

Valencia rallied to tie the match a few minutes before halftime on Robert Davis' centering pass that Jesse Moya put past Del Norte keeper Sam Sisneros and into the bottom right corner of the net.

Sisneros misplayed Eduardo Ramirez' direct kick, Justin Romo corralled the rebound and kicked it up and over Sisneros to give the Jaguars a 2-1 lead.

The Knights looked like they may have forced overtime when Valencia failed to clear the ball from their box and Jesus Rivira scored from point blank range with about eight minutes left in regulation.

Romo, however, came to the rescue in the 79th minute. He took possession of the ball outside the box near the end line, and when Sisneros came out, he lobbed the ball over the keeper from a bad angle, but it managed to trickle into the right side of the net for the match-winning goal.

Valencia 3, Moriarty 1

The Jaguars got their second district win in as many tries in a road match against the Pintos on Thursday.

"We played very well and very smart," Valencia coach Mauricio Enriquez said. "And we played real tough defense. We're getting better on defense."

Alex Macias scored in the 15th minute to put Valencia (6-10, 2-0 District 5-4A) up 1-0, a lead they held until Moriarty (1-13, 0-2) tied the game with a goal in the 55th minute.

The Jaguars scored the game-winner on Jesse Moya's goal in the 75th minute and added another goal in stoppage time on Eduardo Ramirez' penalty kick.

Valencia will go on the road to play Albuquerque Academy on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. They will then play at Del Norte on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

"We have to concentrate and not make mistakes on defense, because Academy is a team that will take advantage of even little mistakes," Enriquez said.

Volcano Vista 4, Belen 3

The visiting Eagles (9-5 overall, 0-1 in District 6-4A) brought enough players to take the field against the Hawks (5-10, 1-0), but BHS coach Brian Weems said only about half of his lineup gave the effort necessary to win a district match.

"Sometimes we all play with heart, and sometimes we don't," said Weems, whose team led the match 3-2 with 10 minutes to play. "I think we went in arrogant and a little cocky, and we only about six guys really show up. We need 11."

Weems also said his team plays up to the level of tougher teams, like during last week's double-overtime win at St. Michael's, but plays down to the level of teams with less experience. Volcano Vista is a first-year varsity program comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores.

The Hawks took the early lead on a goal by Justin Schmidt, but the Eagles evened the score 1-1 a short time later on an unassisted score by Cameron D'Arcangeli. The match would stay tied 1-1 until Volcano's Erik Andersen put in a goal 10 minutes into the second half.

Down 2-1, the Eagles took the lead on goals in the 60th minute by Jaime Hernandez and in the 66th by D'Arcengeli. That's when Volcano's Matt Altsisi scored in the 70th and 74th minutes to give the Hawks the win.

The Eagles outshot the Hawks, 15-10, though Weems said the Eagle defense and goalkeeping was subpar. He said there will most likely be some lineup changes on defense when the Eagles travel to Grants on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match.

Saturday's match was originally scheduled to be played in Belen, but now the Eagles and the BHS girls soccer team will both play at Grants. The BHS boys will host Grants on Oct. 22.

Wednesday, the Eagles play at St. Pius in a 4:30 p.m. match. Weems said he will use a two-forward system against the Sartans, not the one-forward approach he tried against the Sartans last season.

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