Albuquerque High-La Cueva match halted after medical emergency on sideline

The grandfather of an Albuquerque High School boys soccer player collapsed Saturday in the middle of a playoff match against La Cueva.

The Bears were leading the Class 5A state tournament quarterfinal match 4-1 when the game was halted for the day. It will resume Monday at 3 p.m.

Twelve minutes into the second half at the Albuquerque Public Schools Soccer Complex on the far west side, officials sent the players to the benches after the man was seen lying on the cement in front of the bleachers.

Spectators immediately began performing CPR and the La Cueva team trainer used a defibrillator on the man.

This continued for more than 10 minutes until paramedics arrived.

The man was eventually transported to a local hospital wearing an oxygen mask with an IV in his arm.

Additional information about he man’s condition was unavailable Saturday evening.

Albuquerque High coach Orlando Ramirez said the man’s grandson, a junior on the team, said his grandfather was “an inspiration to him.”

While the situation was unfolding, the Bulldogs surrounded their despondent teammate, many crying alongside him.

“What can you say,” Ramirez asked. “You come together and lean on each other. That’s all you can do in situations like this. You lean on the people that you love.”

Players eventually filed out of the complex to the embraces of waiting family members as Ramirez escorted the man’s grandson to the parking lot.

“I told his family that we got him,” Ramirez said. “He can lean on us, that’s for sure. And all the players, it’s something you have to go through. It’s tough to even see, but we’ve got each other. Albuquerque High, we’ve got a great community and they can lean on us.”

The surreal situation put a simple soccer match into perspective, said Kaylem Bellamy, a senior on the AHS soccer team.

“At that point, nothing, no soccer match matters,” Bellamy said. “Nothing matters. It’s just health and caring about your family and realizing that you should never take anything for granted because you never know when something could happen.”

That was similar to the message that La Cueva coach Easy Jimenez, who took the time to hug every Bulldogs player as they left, had for his own team.

“We just need to say our prayers, but this is what we talk about all the time. I think reality, it hit them,” he said. “It’s one thing to hear it, but when something like this takes over, it hits home. We say it every game. Every game. We think that we’re all together and be able to play a game that we all love to play, but you just never know. Whether it’s a torn ACL or something of this magnitude, it’s tough.”

On Monday, top seed La Cueva (17-1-2) and the No. 9 Bulldogs (13-7) will resume the game from its stopping point, according to AHS Athletic Director Chad Jones.

What time the teams will take the pitch is to be determined.

Just moments before the game was stopped, Bears goalkeeper Isaiah Orozco was sent off with a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

Shortly after the Bulldogs’ successful penalty kick, the man collapsed.