Metro tournament Day One: Rio Rancho girls came to play

The 2024 Albuquerque Metro Championship soccer tournament kicked off its group play stages Aug. 24 with a packed crowd at the APS Soccer Complex. Among the 16 participating teams were Cleveland and Rio Rancho High School, both boys and girls, and the opening day had plenty of ups and downs.

The RRHS boys lost 2-0, but the girls won 2-0. Cleveland almost had a similar story. The CHS girls won their match 1-0. The boys were staring down a 2-0 deficit as the second half of their game opened but pulled out an impressive 2-2 draw.

How it works

Sixteen teams are divided into four groups of four. Each team plays each of the teams in their group.

The two teams in each group with the best records after the three games will move onto a bracket-style knockout round. Teams will compete in one-and-done matches until a champion is crowned.

Ties in the group play stage are decided by goal differential.

The games

Girls soccer

CLEVELAND 1, ST. PIUS 0

Cleveland 1 0 -- 1

St Pius 0 0 -- 0

Scoring: C, 7th, Angeline Montoya (Aliyah C'deBaca). Shots on goal: C 16, StP 10. Saves: C, Maddie Johnson 6, StP, Kiley Patalan 13. Corners: C 6, StP 1. Records: C 2-1, StP 0-1.

It was an aggressive match that never let up, but in the end, the Cleveland girls pulled out the win against a tough St. Pius opponent.

An early goal from junior midfielder Angeline Montoya, with the assist from Aliyah C’deBaca, was all the scoring the match saw, but not for lack of trying.

The teams had 26 shots-on-goal combined, along with 19 total keeper saves. The final seven minutes of the game saw a massive offensive push from the Sartans, who pressed continuously. Throw in the numerous injury stoppages, and it made for a physical and exhausting test for the Storm, but they passed.

“The things I enjoyed most were the effort we put forward and the fact that we were able to close out the final seven minutes of the game,” said Cleveland head coach Gregory Rusk.

Though the score was low, CHS had several standout players, according to Rusk. Senior midfielder Taylor Williamson was of special note for her efforts over the first three games of the season.

“[Williamson] has stood out in all three games so far,” Rusk said. “She is basically the guts of our midfield. She is the shield in front of our defense.”

The Storm girls will face Atrisco Heritage next, at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at the APS Soccer Complex.

RIO RANCHO 2, ABQ. ACADEMY 0

Academy 0 0 -- 0

Rio Rancho 1 1 -- 2

Goals: RR, 2nd, Danae Lee (ua), 57th, Sophia Smith (Emilee Miller). Shots-on-goal: RR 9, AA 5. Corners: RR 0, AA 2. Saves: RR, Izzy Fernandez, 5; AA, Sophia Hasse, 7. Rec: RR 2-1, AA 1-1.

The RRHS girls kicked off at 9 a.m. and by 9:02 a.m., they were already winning thanks to a goal from eighth-grade phenom Danae Lee. Lee took a deflection of a defender's head, lined up and launched a shot from outside the penalty area that found the back of the net.

Academy was never able to find their footing. Twelve minutes into the second half, a header from senior Emilee Miller placed the ball in the perfect spot for another young star, freshman Sophia Smith, to break through the wall of defenders and score, putting the match at 2-0 and beyond reach for Academy.

“The girls played well today, particularly in the second half,” said Rio Rancho head coach Jenna Sievers. “We possessed the ball well and created some good opportunities up top.”

The Rams girls take on Manzano at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at the APS Soccer Complex.

Boys soccer

CLEVELAND 2, SANDIA 2

Cleveland 0 2 -- 2

Sandia 1 1 -- 2

Recs: C 2-0-1, S 0-1-1.

“It was a tale of two halves,” said CHS head coach Shaun Gill after his team’s 2-2 draw versus Sandia in the Metro Tournament Aug. 24, and he was right.

Cleveland got off to a slow start, allowing Sandia to score and dominate possession in the first half.

Coming out for the second half, down 1-0, it looked like more of the same for the Storm. They gave up a second goal within four minutes of the second half opening.

Then, after a tough, physical push down field, junior defender Ethan Hendricks found the back of the net. The energy shift was visible in the CHS team. Suddenly, they were contesting every ball and frustrating their opponents at every turn.

After the first CHS goal, Sandia got physical and verbal, receiving numerous warnings and bookings from the referee. But CHS was undeterred and 10 minutes after the first goal, sophomore striker, Craig Armijo scored on a penalty kick.

“If we had come out [in the first half] with the urgency and intensity that we did [in the second half], we probably wouldn’t have dug ourselves such a deep hole,” Gill said. “I’m extremely proud of the guys for bouncing back and not losing their cool ... I mean, we came back from a 2-0 deficit. That’s not easy to do.”

The Storm boys play West Mesa at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27.

ST. PIUS 2, RIO RANCHO 0

This is a developing story.