Saturday, October 18, 2008

Tigers split, Eagles fall to Sartans, Jaguars fall twice

LLHS, BHS can claim 2nd in districts

Jason W. Brooks News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jbrooks@news-bulletin.com

Over the past few seasons, having a lot of talent meant the Los Lunas Tiger boys soccer team was just good enough to play to a one-goal decision against Eldorado, but not quite good enough to beat the perennially state-contending Eagles.

Thursday, the Tigers again didn't quite have enough, as Eldorado scored twice in the first eight minutes in beating Los Lunas 4-0 at the Farmers Insurance Soccer Complex to sweep the season series from LLHS for the fourth straight year.

"When we play Eldorado, we're not just playing the team, we're playing against the name and the mystique," said Los Lunas coach Eliseo Aguirre. "We were very confident going in (having won three straight matches), but we gave up two early goals, and then, it was an uphill battle."

Despite Eldorado holding possession of the ball for much of the contest, the Tigers had a few opportunities. Jorge Tarango had an excellent chance, Aguirre said, but misfired on a shot that would have made the score 2-1.

The Tigers fell to 13-6 overall and 4-3 in District 5-5A with the loss. Eldorado is 14-3 and 4-1.

The Tigers, who were still without forward Jonathan Cole and backup goalkeeper Jose Navarro this week due to an off-the-field incident, are set to travel to Highland for the 5-5A and regular season finale on Friday, Oct. 24. Edgar Lopez-Ramos, who was temporarily removed from the team after the same incident, has returned and played in both of this week's games.

Aguirre said he hasn't heard from LLHS administration about the status of Navarro or Cole, but as Los Lunas won twice without Lopez-Ramos and gradually worked him back into the lineup, it's possible Tiger fans would see the same thing with Cole — if he returns.

"I'm no idiot," said Aguirre. "If something's not broken, don't fix it."

The coach said he hopes to prepare for Highland's artificial turf by practicing at LLHS's Willie Chavez Field often during the upcoming week.

The Tigers would be 5-3 by beating Highland, and Eldorado isn't likely to lose all three of its remaining games, meaning it would have at least five district wins. Even though the Tigers won't likely finish ahead of Eldorado, they could still take second place in 5-5A — something they may need to be one of the 12 teams picked on Oct. 26 for the Class 5A state tournament that starts the following weekend.

"We don't want to leave anything to chance," said Aguirre.

Los Lunas 1, Manzano 0

On a muddy, squishy Volunteer Field on Tuesday, the host Tigers won on the strength of Zachary Jones' goal in the 27th minute.

Ever Gonzalez, working around two defenders near the 18-yard line, sent a pass beyond one Tiger player and toward the right post. Jones beat Manzano goalkeeper Ian Royce and scored.

The Tigers dominated the contest, pelting Royce with 12 shots on goal to only four by the Monarchs. LLHS goalkeeper Spenser Waquie was stellar, stopping many scoring opportunities before Manzano could produce a shot.

Los Lunas, who lost 2-1 at Manzano on Sept. 25, kept the Monarchs from getting any offensive pressure for most of the second half. It was only when the visitors pressed up in the last 15 minutes that the Tiger defense really was challenged.

A handball violation just outside the 18-yard line with about eight minutes to play gave Manzano (8-9 overall, 3-3 in District 5-5A) a free kick. However, the kick was low and hit the wall of Los Lunas players, and was cleared out.

The match was originally scheduled for 3 p.m., but was changed to 4:30 p.m. on Monday due to availability of officials.

St. Pius 5, Belen 0

At St. Pius on Wednesday, the visiting Eagles were surprisingly upbeat after falling to 0-3 in District 6-4A play. Considering the fact Belen only had 14 players dressed and was able to take a low-key approach to trying to get the most out of its lineup with another match in two days, it might be just as well the Eagles (10-5 overall) weren't dejected.

With leading scorer Cameron D'Arcangeli out with a knee injury, the Eagle offense struggled, though the undermanned visitors held their own for most of the first half.

St. Pius' Kaelan Brennan scored after a cross from the Sartans' Jarrod Eichwald skipped off the hands of Belen goalkeeper Kevin Carrillo and straight to Brennan in the 36th minute. The Sartans (14-3, 3-0) led only 1-0 at the half.

"They're an elite 'college' team," said BHS coach Brian Weems, referring to the skill level of many St. Pius players through the years. "We played well today, and we need to play the same way against the unproven teams as we do against this caliber."

Weems said he's hoping D'Arcangeli can play on his "twisted knee" Wednesday against Grants, but the coach said he won't rush the junior.

The Eagles, who were set to host Volcano Vista on Friday after News-Bulletin press time, were outshot 17-4 by the Sartans. Second-half goals by Eichwald, Will Reardon, Nick Miele and Nathanael Pacheco created the final score that seemed less competitive than the action on the field indicated.

Though the Eagles didn't look as organized on offense and didn't pass as crisply as the Sartans, Belen played effective defense until it was worn down in the final 20 minutes.

A win over Volcano Vista and another victory in Wednesday's 4 p.m. home match against Grants would still give the Eagles 12 wins and a winning record, probably enough to convince the state tournament seeding committee to include Belen.

The Eagles got a boost to the state tournament hopes this week when Socorro High School announced its boys soccer team forfeited 14 wins, including one over Belen.

"I'm happy now," said Weems as his team was to prepare for the Volcano Vista match. "Ask me again on Friday."

Abq. Academy 8, Valencia 2

Tuesday at Albuquerque Academy, the first-year varsity of the visiting Jaguars scored twice against a stonewalling Charger defense, but couldn't convert some other opportunities.

"We had three one-on-one chances against the goalie, and didn't score on any of those," said VHS coach Mauricio Enriquez. "We should have had four or five goals."

The Jaguars got goals from Eduardo Ramirez and Maurice Enriquez, the coach's son, in the contest. The Chargers (now 11-7 overall, 4-0 in District 5-4A) led 3-1 at halftime.

"We messed up real bad on defense," said coach Enriquez. "We weren't marking up."

Del Norte 4, Valencia 1

Thursday at Del Norte, the Jaguars continued a bad habit they have been trying to break.

After scoring first, the Jags gave up a goal just before halftime, and ended up losing the match.

"We definitely had some defensive mistakes," said VHS coach Mauricio Enriquez.

Eduardo Ramirez scored in the ninth minute of the match to give Valencia (7-11 overall, 2-2 in District 5-4A) a 1-0 lead. The Knights (6-12, 2-2) scored four minutes before halftime to equal the match at 1-1, then scored in the 58th, 68th and 72nd minutes.

Enriquez said the shots on goal were about even, and one Valencia shot hit the goalpost and bounced past the Knight goalkeeper, somehow missing the goal.

The Jaguars got a small measure of good news this week when Socorro High School announced its boys soccer team forfeited 14 wins, including one over Valencia. Enriquez was unaware of the forfeit until he was informed by the News-Bulletin. The Jaguars wrap up the regular season with two home games: Tuesday against Moriarty at 4 p.m. and Thursday versus Academy. Tuesday's match is set for 4 p.m.

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