New Mexico boys soccer: Contending teams and 10 players to watch

Not that Class 5A boys soccer needed reinforcement of this, but the Cleveland Storm last November, without necessarily knowing it, opened the door wide to the possibilities.

You will find a few coaches who believe Centennial, last year’s state runner-up, is this fall’s team to beat. La Cueva coach Easy Jimenez confidently proclaimed his Bears are the one.

Rio Rancho coach John Shepard, one of the state’s coaching deans, thinks there could be as many as 10 teams that have a shot to win a state title in November. Sandia coach Ryan Sanchez is standing the middle ground; maybe, he said, there are five or six teams with a legitimate shot.

And here, the discussion circles back to Cleveland.

The Storm captured the 5A title as a No. 12 seed last season, the lowest seed in the bracket. It was a shocking finish to a postseason, since no seed that low had ever won state before. And it also further demonstrated the depth in the 5A division.

There is plenty more of that this fall, with the likes of Centennial, La Cueva, Volcano Vista and Atrisco Heritage among those teams who generally have support as favorites in 5A.

District 1-5A is, as usual, the place to begin. On top of Cleveland last year, Atrisco Heritage made the semifinals as a 12 seed the year before. “Ridiculous,” Shepard said of his district’s depth.

October is always an intense month in 1-5A.

“Atrisco looks good; they’ve got a machine down there,” Volcano Vista coach Billy Thiebaut said. His Hawks were the No. 1 seed at state last year. “They’re the favorite in our district right now.”

Senior midfielder Marco Lara is an anchor for the Jaguars. Junior mid Luis Ortiz “is the heart and soul and fight of our team,” Atrisco Heritage coach Javier Hernandez said.

Volcano Vista’s balanced lineup includes all-state defender Jaden Soto and forward Nathan LeMasters, who is converting positions after playing in the midfield and defense.

Shepard’s Rams are expected to contend in 1-5A with a roster that has the coach feeling “pretty optimistic” if team chemistry gels. Rio Rancho should be strong on the back line with senior Caden Jones and senior Xavier Chandler, who returns after missing the 2022 season with knee surgery.

For Cleveland, the Storm begin the season under a bit of a dark cloud, as several players recently bolted the high school program for the New Mexico United Academy.

“It’s gonna be a learning curve,” Storm coach Shaun Gill said. His team was only fourth in its district (1-5A) but went on a tremendous postseason run. Now Cleveland will need to adapt quickly.

In 2-5A, La Cueva enjoyed a huge regular season before bowing out in the quarterfinals of the playoffs to Santa Fe.

The Bears return 14 players, eight starters and should be a high-profile threat.

“What I told my boys was, ‘There’s no reason why we shouldn’t run this,’” Jimenez said. “To me, we’re the team to beat. Hands down.”

Senior forward, Brandon Boling, one of 5A’s top scorers last year, is back for La Cueva, as is junior forward Emari Camu.

Sandia and Eldorado both believe they’ll contend with the Bears in 2-5A.

Freshman midfielder Teo Ojeda is “arguably one of the best in the state,” Sandia coach Ryan Sanchez said. Half a dozen starters are back for the Matadors, who are solid through the back, the midfield and up top, including sophomore forward Ethan Tewa.

Eldorado lost a couple of its top scorers, but the back line is stout, led by junior Manny Cisneros and Bodie Larson.

District 5-5A ought to be highly interesting, with Albuquerque High, Santa Fe and Rio Grande all expecting to challenge.

The Demons won state in 2021 and reached the semifinals last year as a 6 seed. AHS graduated 15 seniors, so this will be a younger-than-usual Bulldog squad with a mostly new starting lineup. One of the top returners is senior center mid Miguel Aguilar.

Former Sandia High athletic director Brian Weems has returned to coaching, with Rio Grande. The Ravens will start only two seniors after being ravaged by graduation, but Weems expects Rio Grande, which has a very young back line, to be competitive led by facilitating midfielders Miguel Guillermo (a freshman) and Kevin Trejo (a sophomore).

Class 4A

Lovington is the defending state champion, although the Wildcats’ coach, Reyes Marquez, left in the offseason to take over at neighboring Hobbs.

Top metro sides include Highland, St. Pius, Hope Christian and Albuquerque Academy.

The Huskies were state runners-up last year, and bring back a junior-heavy roster with just one senior, defender Noah Kelshaw. Junior goalkeeper Cody Guggino is expected to give Hope a strong presence between the posts. And that will be needed with a young back line.

Highland has reached the state semis two years in a row, but the Hornets have a new coach in Jason Schmidt. “I’m excited about this group,” Schmidt said. “I think we have a realistic chance of doing the same thing this year.”

Eight starters are back for the Hornets, including defender Diego Reyes, forward Alberto Torres and defensive mid Lucas Cardona.

The Hornets and St. Pius, which won 15 games last year, both will contend in District 5. The Sartans return the majority of their starting lineup, and coach A.J. Herrera (who is also high on the chances of Goddard from outside the metro area after the Rockets reached the semis last November) believes postseason experience the last couple of years should benefit his team.

Replacing scoring machine Leo Vaughn, who graduated, is a priority for St. Pius, but senior Edgar Rios is expected to fill some of that void. Also, St. Pius brings back three, first-team all-state players in goalkeeper Frank Barela, defender Tim Dyson and midfielder Julian Lovato.

In District 6, Hope and Academy are the clear frontrunners. Chargers coach Laney Kolek and her team should have a strong showing, with seven starters back in the fold and a roster that Kolek said is “one of the deepest I’ve ever seen in my time at the Academy.”

Class 1A-3A

Sandia Prep once again opens a season as a defending state champ, The Sundevils downed Hatch Valley in the final and actually finished the game with nine players after a pair of red cards.

Senior forward Leighton Dellabarca is in line for a big season after 25 goals last season.

“I really like this group,” veteran Sandia Prep coach Tommy Smith said. “This team is very gritty and gutty. … It’s a different type of team than I’ve had in recent years.”

Metro boys soccer players to watch

• Brandon Boling, sr., FW, La Cueva: Boling should be one of Class 5A’s most productive scorers this season.
• Leighton Dellabarca, sr., FW, Sandia Prep: Scored 25 goals last year, and the Sundevils will be looking for even bigger things this year.
• Edgar Rios, sr., MF, St. Pius: This is likely to be the Sartans player opposing defenses will most closely mark.
• Mateo Nobrega, sr., GK, La Cueva: Nobrega returns coming off a terrific junior season in which he was stingy in net.
• Teo Ojeda, fresh., MF, Sandia: Coach Ryan Sanchez labels Ojeda already one of the best in New Mexico at his position.
• Cody Guggino, jr., GK, Hope Christian: As the Huskies will have a fairly young group, Guggino will need to be a stabilizing force.
• Manny Cisneros, jr., D, Eldorado: Cisneros was an all-state performer for the Eagles a season ago.
• Jaden Soto, sr., D, Volcano Vista: The Hawks should feature a solid back line, led by the all-state presence of Soto.
• Frank Barela, jr., GK, St. Pius: Barela is coming off an outstanding junior season, in which he yielded fewer than one goal per game, on average.
• Marco Lara, sr., MF, Atrisco Heritage: A team with championship hopes always needs a reliable anchor in the middle; for the Jaguars, that is Lara.