No football, no problem: Bernalillo Girls' Soccer put on offensive display in Homecoming win

BERNALILLO — When Aztec High School bowed out of Oct. 10’s Homecoming football matchup with Bernalillo, it left the Spartans without a culminating event for their week of festivities.

But in a pinch, Bernalillo High School Athletic Director Ira Harge Jr. found an answer for the Oct. 10 Homecoming hole in the schedule.

“We were notified late on Wednesday that there would not be a football game and started getting the message out to the community,” Harge said. “So first thing Thursday morning, I reached out to our girls soccer coaches to see if they wanted to play the makeup game we lost earlier in the season on Friday, and they were absolutely for it.”

After some quick thinking by Harge Jr. and the Bernalillo staff, a girls soccer makeup game turned into the Homecoming main event, with the Spartans hosting Santa Fe Indian High School on Friday night.

While the idea seemed perfect on paper, Harge Jr. and Co. still had to work fast to bring this solution to life.

“I then reached out to the athletic directors closest to Bernalillo and inquired who may need a girls soccer game,” Harge Jr. said. “Santa Fe Indian School’s Eric Brock got back to me as his girls soccer program needed a game. He and Coach Jenna Burgess were able to get administration and transportation department approval to play the Bernalillo girls soccer team on a day’s notice.”

Before they knew it, it was game time at Spartan Stadium. For the girls’ team, it wasn’t just a great opportunity to play in front of a lively crowd but also a chance to get back on the winning track, losing two and tying one of their last three matchups.

Some Homecoming magic may have been on the Spartans’ side, as what started as a 2-1 back-and-forth matchup flipped into a Bernalillo offensive barrage. The Spartans netted 11 goals in a 11-1 runaway win over the Braves.

Eight different Spartans recorded goals in the rout, including a three-goal performance from Trinity Calabaza. Elysia Andrade scored two goals, with the remaining six players posting one goal apiece.

Friday’s win moves the Spartans to 6-8-1 on the year, marking the fourth time they have scored 10 or more goals in a game. In their last three wins, Bernalillo has outscored its opponents 32-2.

Even with the huge win on the field, the biggest victory of the night still came from the athletic department, keeping Bernalillo’s Homecoming week rolling and bringing the community together.

“A big thanks to SFIS and the Bernalillo girls soccer programs,” Harge Jr. said. “As well as their administrations for coming through so that Bernalillo High School could have a Homecoming game.”