Prep soccer: Academy girls end Hope's 56-game winning streak

The Hope Christian girls soccer team has regularly been beating district rival Albuquerque Academy for years. The Huskies, to be fair, have been regularly beating everyone on their schedule for years, across all classifications.

Friday, New Mexico’s longest and probably most impressive prep winning streak was stopped.

Junior forward Cambria Tero scored a pair of goals before leaving with a serious injury, and second-ranked Academy also scored twice in the final 10 minutes as the Chargers, playing at home, upset No. 1 Hope Christian 4-3 in the regular season finale for both.

The Chargers (16-3-1) put a stop to Hope’s amazing 56-game winning streak that began on Sept. 23, 2023. There wasn’t even a draw anywhere in there.

“I guess after 56 games, you’re gonna have a game where everyone is not good on the same day,” Hope coach Amy Fankam said.

Academy’s players, meanwhile, none of whom had experienced a win against Hope in their varsity career, celebrated like it was a playoff game.

“Some of these girls have never seen an Academy win over Hope,” Chargers coach Andrew Wiese said. “To beat a team of this quality is a huge accomplishment.”

Hope Christian had won 12 in a row against Albuquerque Academy. The last Chargers win in this series, prior to Friday, took place on Oct. 12, 2021.

“I’ve never experienced it,” Academy junior center back AJ Cates said.

What was different this time?

“I think we just all had the drive today,” senior goalkeeper Sophia Hasse said. “We had to believe in ourselves to win against them today.”

There was a silver lining for the Huskies (19-1): despite the setback, they still captured the District 6-4A championship by virtue of goal differential in the two head-to-head district meetings.

Both Hope and Academy finished in a tie for first at 7-1, but the Huskies’ 2-0 win in the first league matchup with the Chargers gave Hope the district title by a single goal.

“I think we just struggled as a team. We had a rough day all over the field,” Fankam said. “Academy is a good team, credit to them.”

Hope Christian is the four-time defending Class 4A state champion. The Huskies won their final 14 matches of the 2023 season, finished 23-0 last year, and started, of course, with 19 consecutive wins this year. Hope has been the state’s gold standard across all the classes, as the Huskies have also been winning against all of the top 5A programs.

The state tournament brackets are to be announced Sunday, and Hope will still be the No. 1 seed. But Academy goes into the playoffs riding high.

“This was a big win for us and gives us a lot of momentum going forward,” Cates said.

Hope now has to regroup somewhat.

“There is a concern, how are these girls gonna rebound from this,” Fankam admitted. “Some of these girls have never lost in their career. But I trust these girls and the work they put in and the trust they have in each other.”

Sophomore Amelia Barnes had Academy’s other two goals, in the 71st and 76th minutes.

BOYS: At Hope Christian, the 6-4A title was also on the line; the visiting Chargers, ranked third, downed the sixth-ranked Huskies 3-1.

Sophomore forward Cruz Tomori scored the first two goals for Academy (12-5-3, 8-0 in district) in the victory over Hope Christian (11-8-1, 6-2).

“You need players like this to win clutch games,” Chargers coach Laney Kolek said.

Tomori scored in the sixth minute.

“We always try to set the tone right away,” he said. “Getting the ball over the top, just finishing it, put us in a good spot.”

Tomori added his second goal five minutes into the second half. Senior Wyatt Bryniarski added a goal and an assist for the Chargers.

Academy will officially open defense of its 2024 state title next Saturday in the quarterfinals.

“I don’t know if we’re right where I want us to be,” Kolek said, “but we’re coming into form.”