MaxPreps 2015 New Mexico high school soccer preview

The Cibola (Albuquerque) boys and La Cueva (Albuquerque) girls will carry the No. 1 soccer rankings into the 2015 campaign, according to a cross section of coaches.


Boys

Class 6A

The Cibola (Albuquerque) Cougars return seven starters from a 15-2-2 team that lost in an upset in the Class 6A state quarterfinals last year.

Coach Cameron Clarke called it "a very disappointing finish for us. It has been weighing on our players. We have a lot more chemistry than we had last year."

The Cougars can count on the state's No. 1 player, 6-foot-1 senior Joe Ortiz, to lead the way. Ortiz, who will attend the Air Force Academy after graduation, should greatly increase last year's total of eight goals and continue to star on defense. He has been a captain since his freshman year.

Senior midfielder Joshua Garcia and senior goalkeeper Enrico Sanchez are among the other key returnees. Sanchez had 10 shutouts last year, made 45 saves and gave up just 11 goals.

Class 6A, as always, will provide plenty of competition for Cibola.

Volcano Vista (Albuquerque) is the defending champion, having posted a 13-6-2 record and rising from the No. 4 seed to win the big prize. Coach Billy Thiebaut returns six starters, including top scorer Ray Roberson, a senior forward who used his great speed to amass nine goals and six assists. Other key veterans are junior defender Andres Jurado and sophomore midfielder Larsen Rogers. Senior midfielder Sergio Fuentes will be an impact player after missing last year with an injury. 

The La Cueva (Albuquerque) Bears will build around six starters from a 13-8 squad and will be coached by Easy Jimenez, who was an assistant for the past 15 years. Senior forward Aaron Otto will set the pace, coming off a year in which he scored more than 20 goals to lead the team. Senior midfielder Alec Robertson, senior forward Jak Eddings and junior defender Jake Sanchez are other key veterans. Jimenez calls senior Chris O'neill and sophomore Anthony Munoz "two great goalies."

Albuquerque was 14-5-3 last year and finished second in the Class 6A state tourney. The Bulldogs return six starters and always will be dangerous because coach Lucien Starzynski is one of the best in the state, if not the nation. Senior goalkeeper Andrea Seazzu posted six shutouts, had 62 saves and yielded just 16 goals last year. He will attend the Air Force Academy. Senior Javier Gonzales scored four goals last year and is a great leader. Senior midfielder Tankred Steinbach had five goals and six assists.

Class 5A

Albuquerque Academy appears to be the early favorite in Class 5A with nine starters back from a 17-3-2 team. Though he's just a freshman, Jayson Baca is one of the state's premier players after being the team's No. 2 scorer as an eighth-grader. Coach Laney Kolek said Baca has "pure speed, is a joy to watch and puts on a show technically." He also will count on seniors Elijah Lucero and Austin Hwang and junior twins Alexander Touche and Charles Touche.

Class A-4A

Bosque (Albuquerque) probably is the favorite in this class, even though talented junior forward Zach Middleton has to play on the JV team according to transfer rules (he was at Cibola). Coach Klaus Weber returns 11 starters from a 19-4 team that lost in last year's state semifinals. Key returnees include senior goalkeeper Barrett Meigs, who had 11 shutouts last year, senior defender Devon Baird and senior forward Dylan Chant, who had 12 goals.

Sandia Prep (Albuquerque) coach Tommy Smith expects to unveil one of the state's premier freshmen, Skylor Rose, this fall. He calls him "a great goal scorer. He can score in a lot of different ways. He had over 15 goals in a scrimmage (seven games) last week."

Santa Fe Prep has lost two outstanding players - sophomore Logan Sullivan is now at Shattuck St. Mary's, a boarding school in Faribault, Minn., and senior Sam Brill is playing for Colorado Rapids Academy. Coach Hersch Wilson said philosophically, "You've got to support people's dreams. We'll be fine, but this is a trend happening in high school where some of the elite players move along."

Girls

Class 6A

The No. 1 La Cueva (Albuquerque) girls won the 6A crown last year and look just as good this time around with eight returning starters from a 19-2 squad. Coach Amber Ashcraft will count heavily on two of the state's premier players - senior forward Jordyn Lacy and senior midfielder Lucia Costanza. Lacey has scored 43 goals during her three-year career and has committed to the University of Texas-San Antonio. Costanza already has committed to Colorado College even though she sat out last year due to transfer rules. Senior midfielder Jessica McDow also is a key returnee.

Eldorado (Albuquerque) also has two of the state's elite players, but Jesse Hicks, who ran cross country instead of playing soccer as a junior, is sidelined by an injury for the first part of the year. She has committed to the University of New Mexico. The other premier player is senior forward Alexa Genas, who had 25 goals and nine assists last year. She is committed to Campbell University. Coach Paul Maestas returns eight starters overall from a 13-3-3 team. Other key performers are senior defender Kelly Burton (New Mexico State), his daughter, Valerie Maestas (New Mexico State) and Alex Rodriguez (New Mexico Highlands).

The Rio Rancho Rams return five starters - plus two who were injured - from a 16-3 team. Coming off an ACL injury, senior Shelby Garner is expected to be one of the state's best defenders following a long rehab period. Coach Uwe Balzis also will count on junior midfielder Cheyenne Orozco in her fourth year and junior forward Leilani Baker.

Cleveland (Rio Rancho) will build around six starters from a 10-4-5 squad that lost in the Class 6A state quarterfinals. Coach Greg Rusk will count heavily on senior forward Savannah Montoya, senior midfielder Monica Chavez and junior defender Ashton Forrest.

Cibola (Albuquerque) also will be a team to watch with six starters back from a 14-5-2 team that bowed out in the Class 6A state semifinals. Coach Gary Zink needs leadership from senior goalkeeper Dmitri Fong, along with sophomores Lexi Baca and Emily Avila.

Class 5A

It could be St. Pius X (Albuquerque) and Farmington battling it out this year for Class 5A supremacy.

St. Pius X is the defending state champion and has six starters back from a 20-3 team. It does have a coaching change, since David Sullivan Sr. has switched roles with his son, David Sullivan Jr., who had been his assistant for the past 12 years. The key player is junior forward Tatiana Limon, who led the Sartans last year with 36 goals and 30 assists. Senior midfielder Lourdes Padilla had eight goals and 11 assists last year and scored the game-winner in the state title contest. She has committed to Adams State College. Senior forward Vanessa Hernandez had 11 goals and six assists last year and is an outstanding athlete.

Farmington has practically its entire starting lineup returning from a team that posted a 12-8-1 record. The Scorpions lost to St. Pius X 2-1 in the state semifinals.

Class 4A-A

Hope Christian (Albuquerque) is the defending state champion in this class and returns six starters from a 22-0-1 squad. Coach Ron Espinoza is very high on senior forward Lauren Rupp, who had 23 goals and 12 assists last year; Avery Lewis, who had 17 goals and nine assists and "is probably the fastest girl in the entire 4A," he noted; and junior midfielder Bella Starkweather, who had 13 goals and 14 assists.

Bosque (Albuquerque) will challenge with nine starters off a 13-6-2 team. Coach Jacob Cortez will count on two straight-A students, sisters Georgia Gray and Genevieve Gray, to set the pace. Georgia is a 5-foot-10 senior who led the district in steals, while Genevieve is a sophomore who has been on the varsity team since the eighth grade. Junior Rhythm Badal is the team's workhorse and possesses many intangibles that translate to victories.