Boys soccer: Albuquerque area once again filled with state contenders

The eyes of Class 5A boys soccer turn first and foremost — but not only — to the La Cueva Bears.

“My quote to them was, ‘I know what’s in front of you. The question is, do YOU know how good you are?’” Bears coach Easy Jimenez said.

The Bears, off to a 2-0-1 start, are one of the four semifinalists at the Albuquerque Metro Championships, which resume Tuesday at the APS Complex with bracket play. The semis are Wednesday night.

Is La Cueva the clear favorite in Class 5A?

This is, as always, a tricky question to be asking in early September, and especially because the metro area is almost always heavily stacked with strong challengers.

“On paper,” said Tom Hirschman, coach of rival Eldorado, speaking of La Cueva, “this is the best team they’ve had in years.”

Jimenez compares this La Cueva team favorably to just about any team he’s coached at the school, and hints that this might be the program’s best team in nearly two decades.

“I love this group,” he said of a team led by the likes of senior forward Winston Starr, one of the state’s elite scorers and best overall players, plus senior center back Connor Hanks and senior midfielder Christian Gerhardt.

And La Cueva is probably more motivated than most as the Bears lost in the state final last November to Centennial, with the Hawks scoring the game-winning goal in the 100th minute, at the end of the second overtime.

Around the metro area, however, there are a handful of teams who all like their chances to make a deep run. That list includes Sandia and Eldorado from La Cueva’s district, plus Volcano Vista and Rio Rancho, and from the other metro-area 5A district, Rio Grande and Atrisco Heritage, both teams off to strong starts.

The Ravens and Jaguars are squaring off in the second of the two metro semifinals, with La Cueva facing Rio Rancho in the otherin a rematch of their state semifinal matchup from 10 months ago.

From District 2-5A, Sandia has faced a tough early slate, a schedule that has included draws with Albuquerque Academy and Rio Rancho, and a double OT setback to Atrisco Heritage. Sandia gets Volcano Vista on Tuesday in the “silver” metro bracket.

The Matadors’ Mateo Ojeda, a junior forward/midfielder, is a player most coaches say is one of the elite in New Mexico.

“Skillful, vision off the charts, can move the ball in ways that frankly a lot of players can’t comprehend,” Matadors coach Ryan Sanchez said. “He can do it all.”

Senior forward Ethan Tewa and senior midfielder Isaac Pier also are among the top players for Sandia.

Eldorado, which reached the state semifinals last season, is a young side, Hirschman said, but he loves the positivity and the culture this team has shownthroughout the offseason andinto the first few days of the season.

Players to watch for the Eagles include senior goalkeeper Taren Wente, senior back Adrian Vargas and senior forward Michel Pessetto.

From District 5, there are three teams that should make for a supremely competitive league slate, led by Rio Grande, coming off its first-ever district championship. The Ravens have given up only one goal in five matches this season.

Featured talent for Rio Grande includes junior forward Kevin Trejo (17 goals last year), senior center back Isael Dominguez and senior goalkeeper Cristiano Flores. All were all-state selections last fall.

It’s a seasoned team, coach Brian Weems said, with a dozen seniors. And this defense, which excelled last year, is off to a very strong beginning, led by Flores.

“The goal this year is to at least get to the championship game (at state),” Weems said.

Like Rio Grande, Atrisco Heritage, a regular 5A contender, has yet to lose a match yet this young season.

This will be a more inexperienced squad than usual, coach Javier Hernandez said. Players to watch: junior keeper Edwin Ortiz, senior defender Bryan Vazquez and senior forward Omar Martinez.

“We’ll be competing for everything we can,” Hernandez said. “We’re blessed with talent.”

Albuquerque High is hoping to return to the playoffs. The Bulldogs won 10 games last year, but were on the outside looking in when the postseason bracket was announced.

District 1 shapes up as hugely competitive, as it is pretty much every season.

Volcano Vista has an early draw against La Cueva.

“We’ve got a high ceiling that we can hit,” Hawks coach Billy Thiebaut said. Senior midfielder Mckay Rogers and senior defender Major Jeffres are a couple of top returners. “Things need to be more consistent for us to hit our high mark.”

Thiebaut pegs Rio Rancho, one of the most veteran teams in the state, as the 1-5A favorite. The Rams, led by longtime coach John Shepard, have an early win over Albuquerque Academy and a recent draw with Sandia.

“We’ve got lots of maturity and leadership,” Shepard said. “So far, we have pretty good chemistry.”

Rio Rancho’s top three scorers graduated, and the Rams are trying to identity new offensive threats. Players to watch include goalkeeper Kenneth Graves, senior center back Parker Dunn and senior midfielder Christian Barricklow.

A young Cleveland group, Shepard suggested, might be a team to keep an eye onespecially in the second half of the season. The Storm have one of 5A’s top midfielders in junior Erick Andrade.

As for Centennial, the Hawks’ big change is at coach, after Daniel Loya left an experienced team following the victory over La Cueva.

CLASS 4A: Defending 4A state champion Albuquerque Academy graduated 14 players, leaving the Chargers somewhat in transition. But they’ll lean on players such as sophomore forward Cruz Tomori, senior defender Joshua Ma and senior goalkeeper Alex Saiz.

“We’re asking players that are fresh in the pool to step up and make their mark,” said Academy coach Laney Kolek. Her side has early draws with Sandia and Rio Grande, and a close loss to Rio Rancho.

That district has been generally ruled by Academy and Hope Christian. The Huskies and coach Steve Kokulis lost eight starters, so they are retooling after reaching the state semifinals last season.

“It’s gonna be an uphill battle,” he said. Top returners include senior forward Michael Kokulis, and senior midfielders Manu Garbarino and Kaden McMurry.

St. Pius was the other state finalist last year, and the Sartans, although they are filling in gaps in goal and on the back line, return 13 players — including senior forwards Mateo Certain and Ethan Wright, and a superb midfielder in senior Didier Herrera — from the team that lost in PKs to Academy for the blue trophy.

Valencia and Highland could both be teams to watch in a pursuit of St. Pius in that district, although the Hornets in particular have started extremely slow.

CLASS 1A-3A: New Mexico Military Institute from Roswell won state in 2024, defeating Santa Fe Prep. Sandia Prep and Bosque School were the other two semifinal sides.

“We have a chance to compete with anyone,” longtime Sandia Prep coach Tommy Smith said.

The Sundevilsare plenty experienced and have got some talented players back in the fold, like senior goalkeeper Cole Updegraff, plus top goal scorer, senior forward Ryan Williams, and junior defender/midfielder Akasha Khalsa.

“Those three,” Smith said, “can play for anyone.”

Bosque School reached the semis with a predominantly young roster, and the Bobcats certainly will be back in the discussion, and a roster with some promising young scorers, such as sophomore Theo Tumolo.

Oak Grove Classical Academy is coming off a tremendous 2024 season, as the Owls were a 3 seed at state. But leading scorer Ivan Moore is apparently not competing for Oak Grove his senior season, and a couple of other top scorers from last season graduated.