High school soccer season to begin in LLHS, BHS & VHS

There is a quick turnaround time for high school soccer teams, boys and girls, in Valencia County.

Practices/tryouts started last Monday, with several games scheduled on Tuesday, Aug. 19. Several common threads weave between the Eagles, Tigers and Jaguars, specifically inexperience and low player numbers.

Belen Eagles

The only Valencia County squad to make the state tournament last season was the Belen girls in 4A, losing 5-0 to Moriarty in the first round. BHS posted a 14-6 record in 2024 and has enough firepower to return to the postseason; however, the Eagles will need to get healthy first.

Addison Carter was at practice Monday, but is coming off an injury sustained over the summer, according to Vianca Chaparro, Belen’s head coach. Carter, a sophomore, led New Mexico in goals (61) and points (131) and was in the top ten nationally in both categories.

Chaparro, who replaced the retired Ernest Gonzales, is using the initial practices to “see where the girls best fit in certain positions, and start preparing to see what formation we’re going to have.”

An important cog for the Eagles is Sophia Cox, the New Mexico 100-meter champion, who scored 15 goals, attacking from the midfield.

Another returning player is Kendra Sims, who was a field player last season as a freshman, but is expected to take over in goal for Jaelynn Bob, who graduated along with stalwarts Sara Martinez and Avery Carter. Right now, Sims is nursing an injury, so Neveah Frazier is “getting trained” for the position.

The only seniors on the roster are Danilynn Bob and Frazier, who will help take a leadership role.

“I love the girls I’m playing with. They’re wonderful,” said Frazier.

With so many new players, Frazier is “hoping we learn together. It is a team sport after all.”

Even though a number of inexperienced Eagles will be taking the field, Chaparro believes returning to the postseason is possible.

“We’ll see the speed and the toughness,” once the season gets underway, Chaparro says. “I’m pretty sure they’ll step up.”

The Eagles open the campaign Tuesday at home against Rio Grande.

On the same field Tuesday, the BHS boys kick off the season also against the Ravens.

“I think the boys are determined, they’re learning a lot,” Eagles’ coach Edgar Lopez said about preseason workouts and the start of practice. “They’ve really worked better at passing and possessing the ball.”

Mixing a small group of veterans with plenty of newcomers will be part of the challenge for Lopez. Experienced players include seniors Carson Villella, a key defender, Emmanuel Jijo, striker, goalkeeper Pierce Warner and midfielder Landon Boggs, who Lopez calls “a solid distributor who holds the team together.”

Boggs believes the Eagles, 6-13-1 in 2024, will find the back of the net more often this season.

“We’ve always been kind of a defensive team,” Boggs noted. “We’re prioritizing more on the attack this season — moving the ball up the field.”

Young players will need to replace a solid graduating group, including Caleb Villella, Jaret Fernandez and Julian Jurado.

As for the bigger picture, according to Lopez, “I expect for the kids to keep competing with class and sportsmanship. That’s the emphasis of the season.”

Valencia Jaguars

The Valencia girls, competing with Belen in District 5-4A, have plenty of new faces and lots of question marks after posting a 2-16-1 record one year ago.

“Our numbers are better than what we’ve had,” the last few years, said Kimberly Chavez, the Jaguars long-time coach.

Most of those players are “young in age and young in experience,” said Chavez, who adds, “Getting technique, getting the skill level where we need it to be is the main focus right now.”

Putting that in perspective is the fact that the oldest players on the team are sophomores. No juniors, No seniors. AvaMarie Burkhard, the coach’s daughter, is one of the most experienced returners as a freshman.

“There are going to be a lot of learning situations in the games,” Burkhard said, and the Jaguars need to take advantage of them.

With the departure of a handful of seniors, including Lilly Salazar, Brandy O’Connor and Isabella Chambers, there are question marks at virtually every position, according to Chavez. However, some of those questions are being answered.

“You can see already the improvement from last year to this year, which is nice,” she said. “They came out most of the summer.”

Many of those who hit the field for the first workout are eighth-graders, so the Jags expect to improve with each practice and game.

“I feel like there’s a lot of natural aggressiveness on the team,” according to Burkhard, who will anchor the defense. “I think it’s going to be a lot different from last year.”

Chavez seems to agree.

“I do have high expectations. The potential is there. We just have to keep working at it.”

Nearby, a large group of VHS boys went through their paces, buoyed by the knowledge the team has experience to rely on. Nearly 10 seniors dot the roster for coach Eric Gutierrez.

“I expect us to make it to state this year because we have a very good roster,” said Israel Rocha, one of those seniors. “We all have the same ambition,” which is to win.

Each of the past four seasons, VHS has been 4-4 in district play, with an overall mark of 7-11-1 last season. Not bad, considering their foes include St. Pius and Highland, among the state’s best, in addition to Belen and Grants.

Senior midfielder Bladimir Ramirez also expects the Jaguars to be playing in the postseason.

“I think we’re going to be better this year. People are working harder,” Ramirez observes.

Ramirez and Pecos Jones, a sophomore, led Valencia in goals one year ago.

At the other end of the field, keeper Andres Burkhard will help anchor the defense. Burkhard will appreciate one of the areas Rocha says the team needs to improve on. Communication.

“Everyone is very quiet. Very shy,” Rocha says, which is not a plus on the pitch.

Ramirez adds that the Jaguars need to improve helping the defense when a VHS attack comes up empty.

“They (opponents) will get us on the counter,” he said.

Valencia will stay in the county Tuesday for game No. 1, against visiting Los Lunas.

Los Lunas Tigers

When the 5A Los Lunas boys take the field Tuesday against Valencia, thoughts of last season will likely be close by. The Tigers were devastated by the death in October 2024 of teammate Sergio Valdez, who was killed in a motorcycle crash.

“They battled a lot throughout the year,” said LLHS coach Daniel Martinez about the players’ experience. “The grit that they were able to build and develop last year, I think it’s going to show in their results this year.”

Ricky Baros, senior defender, spent time ticking off the way he thinks the Tigers have improved.

“Our forwards are a lot better. We’re a lot stronger this year,” Baros said, while adding, “The defense is looking really good. We’re a lot more conditioned.”

One negative, Baros says with a laugh, is “We need more players.”

LLHS will need to replace four seniors from last season, when they had just one victory. However, Martinez believes the Tigers, “have a really young team, with lots of talent, both coming in and that we already had.”

This Saturday’s scrimmage against Belen should help prepare for the week ahead; home games Tuesday against Valencia and Thursday versus Alamogordo.

It’s all part of learning what Martinez says, “best suits our style and best suits our ability to succeed. I think they should be an exciting group to watch.”

Despite a 12-5 record, including a 6-2 mark in district action, the LLHS girls missed out on the 5A state tournament. Gone from that team are leading goal scorers Eleah Sangre (31) and McKaylee Burt (21), along with Neveah Aragon and Adelina Villanueva.

“We’re going to be really young, but with that comes really good, talented players,” said Jorge Torango, LLHS coach. “Really young” means several eighth graders, including Katie Garcia, Mila Carrillo and Mia Ordaz, who is “strong in the middle, strong on the ball, knows the game,” according to Torango.

It’s rare that an eighth-grader steps into goal-keeping duties, but that is the assignment for Hailey Cannon.

“She’s got the height and she’s got the fundamentals,” Torango believes.

There are also returning players who are ready to go, including Elli Bertrand, freshman, and seniors Delila Golino, Miley Driscoll, Vada Golino and Nevaeh Monarrez.

“Our attacking is really good,” said Monarrez, who will be called on to be more of a scorer. “We can really view the field and see what we have open.”

The state tournament has been just out of reach recently for the Tigers, despite posting solid records year after year.

“It’s going to take a lot of work because our team is so young,” said Monarrez about reaching the postseason. “With the right dedication and the right mindset we can make it work.”

“We just have to get our physicality up,” according to Torango. “We have the talent and I’m optimistic we can get there.”