Sep. 19—Girls soccer
Santa Fe High 8, Aztec 0
What happened: The Demons improved to 8-0 with a convincing nondistrict win over the Lady Tigers at Santa Fe High. Once again, they showed balance in their scoring, as six players recorded a goal and four players recorded assists. It was also the case in how Santa Fe High scored, as it built a 4-0 lead at the half and grew it to 7-0 with 30 minutes left in the match.
Top players: Allison Segura-Maze had a pair of goals to go with two assists. Asha Smelser also had two goals, plus and assist, while Sonia Goujon had a goal and an assist.
What’s next: Santa Fe High takes on Valencia on Monday before heading into District 5-5A play.
Santa Fe Prep 5, Monte del Sol 3
What happened: The Blue Griffins controlled the nondistrict match at Sun Mountain Field, although the Lady Dragons were never too far out of reach. Prep held a 3-2 lead at the half but the defense stiffened after the break. Co-head coach Rennae Ross said she shortened her bench as Prep prepares for District 2-1A/3A play that begins at the end of the month.
“We’re trying to get the girls out and give them time to learn how to play together and anticipate and all of those things,” Ross said. “I thought it looked a lot like soccer today.”
Top players: Marley Belyeu had a hat trick, while Madeline Mena and Fionnuala Moore each had a goal. Monte del Sol had Kathy Arizmendi had a pair of goals and Selene Franco added another.
What’s next: Prep (2-3) takes on Moriarty on Wednesday. Monte del Sol (2-4) plays Las Vegas Robertson on Saturday.
Volleyball
Silver bracket
Cuba 3, Santa Fe Prep 1
What happened: The young, inexperiencedBlue Griffins had to learn how to adapt to a hand injury suffered by sophomore Nicole Gonzales in the third-place match at the SFIS Dig Pink Classic against the Lady Rams. Senior Caroline Moore collected seven kills at the net, while freshman Emery Kurth had a pair of kills and two blocks to help take some of the pressure off of Gonzales. Prep head coach Kiran Bhakta said the rest of the team has to step up because it cannot win solely on the Gonzales’ right arm.
“I was more proud of them adjusting to a new situation and still go forward,” Bhakta said. “We almost made a comeback in the fourth set. We just got in the wrong rotation at the wrong time.”
Top players: Gonzales had 16 kills, two assists and four aces to lead the Blue Griffins, and she ended up on the silver bracket all-tournament team thanks to the 41 kills she produced in two matches. Kurth also earned all-tournament honors, as she had four kills in a four-game loss to Cobre in the morning semifinal to go with her afternoon production.
What’s next: Prep (4-4) takes on Española Valley on Wednesday, then Pecos on Thursday.