Thursday, November 05, 2009

Storm a Veteran Bunch

By James Yodice
Journal Staff Writer
      There are parallels to be drawn between the Volcano Vista girls soccer team of 2008 and the Cleveland girls soccer team of 2009.
       As a first-year varsity program, the Hawks were a surprise No. 2 seed at last year's Class 4A state tournament, but lost in the semifinals to a lower-seeded Los Alamos side.
       As a first-year varsity program, the Storm enter this year's Class 5A tournament as the No. 3 seed. But there is where the parallel hits a fork in the road.
       Cleveland's status as a varsity rookie hardly seems applicable, considering how many players have been through the playoffs with Rio Rancho High the last two years. Several Storm players were part of the Rams' 2007 state championship team.
       With that knowledge, Cleveland (18-1) takes on No. 6 Carlsbad at 5 p.m. today at the APS complex.
       “We're excited just to have gotten this far,” junior forward Liz Hemminger said. “If we bring it and play our game, we could definitely have a shot.”
       Sandia and La Cueva were awarded the top two seeds. Cleveland didn't play either in the regular season. If the Storm advance past the Cavegirls, they are almost certain to face La Cueva in Friday's semifinals.
       “All the girls have been in the playoffs before, so I think they're ready for this,” said Storm coach Amanda Stout.
       Cleveland's lone defeat came Sept. 11 to Albuquerque Academy, a 1-0 result. Since then, it's been 13 consecutive victories.
       And the Storm picked up an additional bonus.
       The state's leading scorer, senior Melissa Marshall of Carlsbad, was given a red card in last Saturday's 2-1 first-round win over Valley. As a result, Marshall can't play today.
       Still, Stout said, Carlsbad is fast up front, so the Storm's just-as-speedy defense must be ready.
       RIO RANCHO: Rio Rancho's boys and girls both were upset in the first round last Saturday by No. 12 seeds.
       Albuquerque High's boys and Hobbs' girls both posted overtime victories over the Rams. AHS won 1-0, Hobbs posted a 2-1 victory.
       
       RIO RANCHO GIRLS ROSTER
       No. 1 Amy Salinas, jr., D No. 3 Courtney Dudley, soph., D No. 6 Azure Dorsey, jr., D No. 7 Mikaela Haley, so., D No. 8 Liz Hemminger, jr., FW No. 9 Jocelyn Iwanczyk, jr., MF No. 10 Ileana Jaramillo, jr., MF No. 11 Julissa Hunte, so., FW No. 12 Mallory Kantowski, fr., D No. 13 Cheyenne Taylor, jr., MF No. 16 Chelsea Page, jr., MF No. 17 Katarina Pacheco, so., D No. 20 Emily Cubbage, so., MF No. 21 Xan Ortiz, soph., G No. 22 Caitlin Espinoza, so., MF No. 26 Addie Himmelberger, jr., MF

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