New Mexico high school soccer state tournament preview

If the state tournament seedings are any indication, the Albuquerque metro area should be picking up some championship hardware in the near future.

The tourney will launch this Friday and Saturday, but the top four seeds in each class will not compete until the following week.

In the large-school (Class 6A) boys division, Cibola (Albuquerque) has drawn the No. 1 seed. The Cougars have rolled to a 15-1-2 record entering this week, with their only loss to city foe Volcano Vista. Interestingly, they both ended up in the same bracket.

According to NMsoccer.com, senior Sergio Rivas leads the state in Class 6A with 52 points and 18 goals. Junior goalkeeper Enrico Sanchez also leads the state in fewest goals allowed (0.4969). He has yielded eight goals and has 54 saves in 1,288 minutes.
 
The Class 5A top seed is Albuquerque Academy, which has a 17-1-2 record. The Chargers face, perhaps, the state's most competitive field. Defending champion Roswell is the No. 2 seed.

Senior Nicholas Slade paces the Chargers with 45 points, No. 5 in Class 5A. He gets strong support from eighth grader Jayson Baca and sophomore Alexander Touche, who both have 30 points. Sophomore goalkeeper Ryan O'Malia is the division's No. 2 stopper with a 0.5114 percentage, having allowed seven goals in 1,095 minutes. He has 41 saves.

In the Class 1A-4A division, perennial champion Sandia Prep (Albuquerque) holds top seeding with a 14-4-2 record. The Sun Devils will be seeking their state record 18th championship.

Senior Ryan Hunter is a distant No. 2 in his division with 66 points. Goalkeeper John Twohig has made 43 saves and allowed seven goals in 1,241 minutes for a 0.4512 percentage.

In the girls Class 6A bracket, Rio Rancho holds the top seed with a 19-3 record. Right behind at No. 2 is defending champion Eldorado (Albuquerque).

The Rams are very balanced in scoring. Junior Sophie Rodrigues and sophomore Brittney Harris both have 26 points and right behind is sophomore Leilani Baker with 25.

In Class 5A the No. 1 seed belongs to St. Pius X (Albuquerque), which has compiled a 16-3 record. The heavily-laden veteran defending champion Sartans are a clear No. 1 choice.

Sophomore Tatiana Limon is the top scorer with 76 points (31 goals and 14 assists) to rank No. 4 in her division. Senior Samantha Afonso is next in line with 37 points. Junior goalkeeper Tatiana Sarracino has 29 saves and has yielded 15 goals in 1,117 minutes for a 1.0743 percentage.

The top seed ins Class 1A-4A is Hope Christian (Albuquerque), which has been nearly perfect this year with just one tie in 20 outings The Huskies return all 22 players from last year.

Juniors Lauren Rupp (45) and Avery Lewis (24) are the top scorers, but three others have tallied 20 points, displaying great balance and depth. Senior goalkeeper Larissa Kozlowski leads her division with a 0.3028 defensive average. She has allowed six goals in 1,585 minutes and has made 60 saves.

The state quarterfinals will be held on Nov. 6, the semifinals on No. 7 and the finals on Nov. 8, all at the APS Soccer Complex in Albuquerque.