FARMINGTON – The race for the top spot in District 1-4A among local and area girls soccer teams figures to be an intense one again.
Last year, the District 1-4A girls soccer title race was highlighted by three local teams, with the Aztec Tigers earning the title with a record of 9-1 (12-10 overall) ahead of Kirtland Central and Bloomfield.
All three teams advanced to the Class 4A tournament and were separated by only a handful of games in the overall and district standings.
Aztec, coached by Leroy Nelson, will be bringing back a number of top players who led the team to the Class 4A New Mexico Activities Association’s state quarterfinals.
“We got off to a rough start to the season last year with a lot of injuries,” Nelson said. “But we worked hard and made it as far as we did. The expectation for this year’s team is that with hard work, we’ll invest in ourselves and we’ll prevail as a team.”
Returning to the pitch this season will be senior Rheala Herrera, who led the team with 23 goals last season. Senior midfielder Summer Steele also will be back, along with Estrella Albright and sophomore Autumn Villanueva, who was the No. 2 scorer on the squad last year.
“Our senior investment has been high on and off the field, both with mentoring young athletes and talking to college coaches and weighing decisions to play at the next level,” Nelson said. “Our younger athletes strive on what they can achieve as seniors when it’s their time to shine.”
Aztec will open the season in tournament action on Friday, Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. when they host the Tiger Shootout at the Tiger Sports Complex.
Meantime, the Kirtland Central girls soccer team will look to get back to the state tournament as well. Kirtland Central finished second in the district race last season despite having the better overall record (15-6-1) ahead of both Aztec and Bloomfield. The Broncos were eliminated in the first round of the state tournament by district rival Bloomfield.
The Broncos will be led by returning stars from last season like Whitney Haws, who scored 13 goals as a sophomore last year and senior Kymri Manning, who scored six goals and had nine assists last season.
“(Manning) will be a strong asset as she can be utilized at various positions,” said head coach Kiera Smith.
The Broncos also will be looking for big contributions from Kaleigh Coolidge and Nevaeh Sandoval, who was lost for much of last season due to injuries.
“When she got hurt, we missed out on a lot of her contributions,” said Smith. “(Coolidge) does a great job anticipating movements of the opposition and is able to contribute so much defensively.”
Kirtland Central will open the season at home on Thursday, Aug. 24 at home against Rehoboth Christian.
The Bobcats will be bringing back two of last season’s leading scorers in Desirea Gurule and Ella Serrano, who combined for 42 goals and five assists last year.
Bloomfield will open the season in tournament action on Friday, Aug. 25 at 8 a.m. against Farmington.
Both girls soccer teams from Farmington and Piedra Vista high schools missed out on the state postseason tournaments despite respectable overall records.
The Panthers closed out the season with a record of 9-9-2 (4-6 District 2-5A) and having a narrow advantage in the number of goals scored ahead of against. Farmington (8-9-2 overall) finished the district season with a 3-7 record and probably lost any chance at the postseason when the team closed out its campaign with three losses in a row.
Farmington and Piedra Vista will be chasing defending Class 5A state champion Eldorado, as well as district rivals La Cueva and Sandia.
This is not unfamiliar territory for either team, which has watched as La Cueva, Sandia and Eldorado have combined to win three of the past six state championships in Class 5A.
Coached by Bryce Frost, the Scorpions will welcome back last year’s leading scorer Jenna Elledge, who scored 17 times last season, accounting for nearly half the team’s total number of goals during the season.
Farmington will open the season on Fri., Aug. 25 against Bloomfield. For more information on the Scorpions girls soccer team, check out their official page on Maxpreps.com.
Meantime, Piedra Vista will be looking to new head coach Victoria Castro to lead the Panthers this season. Castro takes over as head coach of the team replacing Shaun Taylor, who coached the team for the past four seasons with a record of 33-29-7.
For more information on the Piedra Vista girls soccer team, including roster and schedule updates, visit their page at Maxpreps.com.
