Sandia Prep girls soccer captures fourth straight blue trophy

Under coach Matthew Westerlund, Sandia Prep has been all but inevitable.

The top-seeded Sundevils (19-4) shook off a slow start to cruise to a 4-0 victory over No. 3 Cottonwood Classical Prep (16-5-1) in the girls Class 1A-3A championship game at the UNM Soccer Complex on Friday.

It’s the fourth straight blue trophy for Sandia Prep and sixth in the last seven years with Westerlund at the helm. The Sundevils, who matched the school record for most consecutive state titles, won their 13th overall, second most in New Mexico girls soccer history behind La Cueva (16).

“You sometimes think about that kind of thing,” Westerlund said. “And at the end of it, yeah, you can put those on the wall of the the fieldhouse and the gymnasium. But the one that I get most proud of is these girls being able to carry that home. The time that I put into planning sessions is all worth it to be able to have them be having something they can carry with them.”

Sandia Prep beat the Coyotes handily — 3-0 and 6-0 — in two previous meetings, but early on it appeared that the underdogs were a different team with a blue trophy at stake. The district rivals battled to a virtual stalemate for the majority of the first half, and Cottonwood Classical nearly drew first blood when Grace Rodriguez launched a shot that deflected off the post from about 30 yards away.

“You sometimes get this idea of what the outcome’s gonna be. Not the case tonight,” Westerlund said. “Their coach had them extremely organized, and that was one of the toughest games we played all season.”

Momentum shifted when a foul just outside the box gave Sandia Prep senior Bridget Hurley a free kick opportunity. She converted without issue, and that gave the Sundevils new life, as well as a lead, heading into halftime.

“I think it really did change the momentum. It really helped us to be able to put more goals in the net (later in the game),” Hurley said. “And I think it’s better to go into the half being up than being tied.”

Sandia Prep was much more assertive in the second half, and that led to Hurley scoring after a scramble near the Cottonwood Classical net in the 46th minute. Four minutes later, Ava Payne scored to make it 3-0 and any real hopes of a Coyotes upset were extinguished. Rylie Elison provided the final goal in the 67th minute.

While converting scoring chances was essential, it was just as significant that the Sundevils were more physical over the final 40 minutes.

“The telltale sign of a team of quality, of perseverance, is one that’s able to weather adversity and be able to organize themselves,” Westerlund said. “And that’s what happened at halftime … I think during the entire second half, we really dictated the kind of play that we’ve been doing all year.”

This particular Sundevil senior class has known nothing but ending each season on a victorious note. However, Westerlund does recall that group taking their lumps as eighth-graders during the COVID season.

“They were the ones that were put into the the true inferno of playing a really tough schedule within two and a half weeks before we literally played state,” he said. “And the defeat to St. Mike’s was what they needed to say, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna feel this again.’”

And they didn’t.

“I’m glad that we are able to do this with this team,” Hurley said. We’ve been working for this for all four years that I’ve been here, and it just feels really good to have my last one be a state championship again.”