By Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
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Soccer: Eldo, Pius, Sandia Prep Boys Win Again
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The past weekend wasn't one for lovers of new champs, as the state soccer tournaments were held in Bernalillo - just outside of Albuquerque.
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But for those that repeated first-place finished from a year ago, Saturday (Nov. 4) was one glorious day.
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"It's been awesome. I definitely have to say this is the sweetest one," said St. Pius senior Jordan Azar, who helped the Sartans girls to their third straight Class 4A title with a 5-1 victory over Los Alamos. "The first one (2004 vs. Academy) was won off a far kick and it was 1-0. The second one, last year, was 3-0 (also over Academy) and it wasn't very exciting. This year, it felt so much better for some reason."
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The St. Pius boys also won - for the fifth-consecutive time. The Sartans' 1-0 victory over Farmington meant that retiring coach Jorge Tristani would go out a winner.
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"It's awesome sending him off with another state championship. He's had so many, but this one's going to be so much more special because he's leaving," said St. Pius senior Sergio Cordova, who scored the game's only goal five minutes into the game. "We worked so hard throughout the year that we knew it was destined for us to finish this dynasty for Coach Tristani."
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Overall, Tristani has won a remarkable 12 titles with the Albuquerque school.
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In Class 5A, Eldorado repeated as the boys championship with a 2-1 victory over Sandia - meaning that the perennial power Matadors would be relegated to runner-up status for the sixth time in the last dozen years. In a rematch of last year's title game, the Eagles tied the game in the 69th minute on a goal by Nate Witkowski.
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Only four minutes later, another shot by Witkowski found net for Eldorado and proved to be the game winner.
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The 5A girls finale was also a repeat of the 2005 championship, but this time it was La Cueva that upended defending champ Las Cruces. The only goal, in a 1-0 Bears' victory, came when La Cueva's Lexi Ball powered home a high, hard one - just under the crossbar - in the 54th minute.
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Sandia Prep, in Class 1A-3A, won for a sixth straight year as the Sundevils' seniors led the way. Each of the goals, in a 6-0 win over Bosque School, was scored by Sandia Prep's most experienced players. Seth C'de Baca, Will Phipps, Sean Blea and Tim Dougher all tallied goals to end their playing days at the school.
"We've won it every year we've been here. The seniors have left a great legacy," said C'de Baca, who assisted the four goals he didn't score personally.
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Just like St. Pius, Sandia Prep also won the girls soccer title. A 2-0 victory over St. Michael's was secured late for the Sundevils as Mackenzie Yates scored in the 63rd minute and teammate Elena Benavides added an insurance goal in the 78th.