Volcano Vista’s Jovany Orona, right, is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against Rio Rancho earlier this season. The Hawks are seeded No. 1 for the upcoming Class 5A state soccer tournament. (Mike Sandoval/For the Journal)Five of the six no. 1 seeds for the high school state soccer tournament originate from the Albuquerque metro area as the postseason brackets were announced Sunday afternoon.
The playoffs begin on Tuesday with first-round games in Class 5A and 4A.
The six championship games will be played at Cleveland High School. The Class 1A-3A finals are Friday, Nov 4. The 4A and 5A title games are Nov 5.
The higher seeds will be hosting games in all rounds until the championship.
BOYS: District 1 champion Volcano Vista (14-1-3) earned the No. 1 seed for the 5A bracket, and will open on Friday or Saturday against the winner of Organ Mountain-Sandia.
“Playing these quarterfinal and semifinal games at a home site is a huge advantage now,” Hawks coach Billy Thiebaut said. “We’ve been focused on that, because we wanted to be home, because we feel we have a good home field advantage.”
Centennial was seeded second, followed by La Cueva and Hobbs.
Defending state champion Santa Fe earned a home game as a 6 seed, against Rio Rancho.
Two-time defending 4A state champ Albuquerque Academy is the No. 2 seed this year, just behind the team the Chargers have beaten in the last two championship games, that being the Lovington Wildcats.
St. Pius, Hope Christian and Highland are the 5-6-7 seeds in the 4A bracket, and all will be hosting first-round games on Tuesday.
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Sandia Prep, like Academy, is a two-time defending champion, and the Sundevils are the No. 1 seed in class 1A-3A. While the 5A and 4A fields are 12 deep, the 1A-3A bracket features just eight teams, and that tournament will open with quarterfinals later this week.
GIRLS: Cleveland (16-1-1) is the No. 1 seed in Class 5A for the second time in program history, and the Storm found itself in the more intriguing — and far more difficult — half of the draw.
A dangerous La Cueva side is a possible opponent for Cleveland in the quarterfinals if the Bears get past Clovis in the first round.
Volcano Vista, which has momentum with new coach Ashley Nieder — who once played on a state championship team with the Hawks — is the No. 4 seed and could end up opposite Cleveland in the semifinals. The Hawks just beat the Storm 2-0 on Wednesday of last week.
“The loss at Volcano the other day could possibly be a blessing in disguise,” Storm coach Greg Rusk said. “Because it does take away the pressure of an undefeated season.”
Defending state champion Cibola also is in this demanding upper half; the winner of Cibola-Hobbs faces Volcano Vista in the quarterfinals, and the Hawks beat the Cougars 2-1 on Friday to close the regular season.
“It’s very nice being the No. 1 seed, but looking at it, I knew there was a very good chance that at least one of our other District 1 (rivals) would be on our side of the bracket,” Rusk said. “We don’t just have one, we have two.”
No. 2 Las Cruces and No. 3 Eldorado anchor the bottom half. The Eagles won the competitive District 2 race against La Cueva and Sandia.
“We’re looking forward (to the playoffs) a lot,” said Eldorado senior Katy McKim. “We’re really excited and we think we have a shot at state.”
Hope Christian, a perfect 20-0 and ranked as the state’s second-best overall team behind Cleveland, is the No. 1 seed in Class 4A as the Huskies attempt to repeat as state champions.
The top three seeds were private schools from Albuquerque, with Academy at No. 2 and St. Pius, last year’s state runner-up and with a first-year head coach in Abigail Tarin, at No. 3.
Defending champ Sandia Prep earned the No. 1 seed in Class 1A-3A, with district rival Bosque School seeded right behind the Sundevils.
BOYS STATE SOCCER BRACKETS
(time posted where available)
Class 5A
First round — Tuesday
(Games at home of higher seed)
(9) Sandia at (8) Organ Mountain
(12) Cleveland at (5) Albuquerque High, 1 pm
(11) Rio Rancho at (6) Santa Fe. 6 p.m
(10) Atrisco Heritage at (7) Gadsden, 7pm
Quarterfinals — Friday/Saturday
(Games at home of higher seed)
Sandia-OM winner at (1) Volcano Vista
Cleveland-AHS winner at (4) Hobbs
RR-SF winner at (3) La Cueva
AHA-Gadsden winner at (2) Centennial
Semifinals — Wednesday, Nov. 2
Quarter final winners at higher seed
Championship — Saturday, Nov. 5
Semifinal winners at Cleveland HS, 1:30 p.m
Class 4A
First round — Tuesday
(Games at home of higher seed)
(9) Santa Teresa at (8) Artesia, 6:30 pm
(12) Kirtland Central at (5) St. Pius X, 4 pm
(11) Deming at (6) Hope Christian, 3:30 pm
(10) Miyamura at (7) Highland, 6:30 pm
Quarterfinals — Friday/Saturday
(Games at home of higher seed)
ST-Artesia winner at (1) Lovington
KC-SPX winner at (4) Goddard
Deming Hope winner at (3) Los Alamos
Miyamura-Highland winner at (2) Albuquerque Academy
Semifinals — Wednesday, Nov. 2
Quarter final winners at higher seed
Championship — Saturday, Nov. 5
Semifinal winners at Cleveland HS, 6:30 p.m
Class 1A-3A
Quarterfinals — Friday/Saturday
(Games at home of higher seed)
(8) Tierra Encantada at (1) Sandia Prep
(5) Robertson at (4) St Michael’s
(6) East Mountain at (3) Santa Fe Prep
(7) NM Military Institute at (2) Hatch Valley
Semifinals — Tuesday, Nov. 1
Quarter final winners at higher seed
Championship—Friday, Nov. 4
Semifinal winners at Cleveland HS, 6:30 p.m
GIRLS STATE SOCCER BRACKETS
(time posted where available)
Class 5A
First Round—Tuesday
(Games at home of higher seed)
(9) La Cueva at (8) Clovis, 7 pm
(12) Hobbs at (5) Cibola, 3pm
(11) Organ Mountain at (6) Sandia, APS Complex, 6 pm
(10) Santa Fe at (7) Albuquerque High, 3:30 pm
Quarterfinals — Friday/Saturday
(Games at home of higher seed)
La Cueva Clovis winner at (1) Cleveland
Hobbs-Cibola winner at (4) Volcano Vista
OM-Sandia winner at (3) Eldorado
Santa Fe-AHS winner at (2) Las Cruces
Semifinals — Wednesday, Nov. 2
Quarter final winners at higher seed
Championship — Saturday, Nov. 5
Semifinal winners at Cleveland HS, 11 am
Class 4A
First Round—Tuesday
(Games at home of higher seed)
(9) Santa Teresa at (8) Silver, 7 pm
(12) Artesia at (5) Goddard, 6 pm
(11) Valencia at (6) Aztec, 6:30 pm
(10) Bloomfield at (7) Kirtland Central, 7 p.m
Quarterfinals — Friday/Saturday
(Games at home of higher seed)
ST Silver winner at (1) Hope Christian
Artesia-Goddard winner at (4) Los Alamos
Valencia-Aztec winner at (3) St. Pius
Bloomfield-KC winner at (2) Albuquerque Academy
Semifinals — Wednesday, Nov. 2
Quarter final winners at higher seed
Championship — Saturday, Nov. 5
Semifinal winners at Cleveland HS, 4 p.m
Class 1A-3A
Quarterfinals — Friday/Saturday
(Games at home of higher seed)
(8) Rehoboth Christian at (1) Sandia Prep
(5) St. Michael’s at (4) Santa Fe Prep
(6) Robertson at (3) Ruidoso, Saturday, 1 pm
(7) ATC at (2) Bosque School
Semifinals — Tuesday, Nov. 1
(Games at home of higher seed)
Championship—Friday, Nov. 4
Semifinal winners at Cleveland HS, 4 p.m
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