RR girls soccer dominates home opener, score six vs Las Cruces

RIO RANCHO — Out of 20 games last season, the Rio Rancho girls soccer team’s highest single-game scoring total was five goals.

Just one game into the 2025 season, the Rams have topped it.

Opening the year at home, Head Coach Jenna Sievers and her Ram squad rumbled their way past the Las Cruces Bulldawgs for a dominant 6-0 victory.

"Starting with a win 6-0 was a really good start," Sievers said. "Especially when last year, we struggled to find the back of the net. So scoring six, I think that bodes well for us this season, and hopefully that's not a struggle that we have going down the road."

The scoring began with Kieara Trujillo-Garcia, who is no stranger to the box score. Rio Rancho’s leader in goals from last season, now in her senior year as a captain, picked up right where she left off with a great run and strike in the eighth minute.

The Rams' ability to smother any Bulldawg run and flip it into a counterattack was the difference in the opening minutes. Rio Rancho would add another goal in the 19th minute, making it 2-0 just 20 minutes in.

"I think our girls were really hungry up top, and they were just relentless with their pressure," Sievers said. "We had some really good ball movement, and there just were really connecting well as a team."

A blazing hot start would turn into a stretch of close chances for the Rams, with several shots going just wide. On the defensive side, it was a strong performance from the backline, but all kudos should go to goalkeeper Tegan Chaves, who provided 60 minutes of straight business in net.

Chaves was credited with four saves on top of being very active around the net, getting to any ball that snuck by the line of defense.

It took some time for goal number three to arrive, but when it did, the floodgates opened. Four goals in the second half turned a high-energy match into a coast to the finish for the Rams.

While a senior opened up the scoring, it was the underclassmen who left their fingerprints all over this victory. Freshman Danae Lee scored two goals, already matching her season total from last year.

Sophomores Adisen Ly and Sophia Smith were causing havoc on the attack all night, with Smith tallying three assists that included a beautiful pass to set up a Ly goal.

Goal Rams. A great 1-2 punch with a run from Smith, finished off by Adisen Ly. 3-0 RR as they try and put this away.@RRObserver

— Dan Allison (@danlallison) August 20, 2025

Sophomore Mikayla Coraci joined the scoring party with a goal of her own, as freshman Taylor Roskos scored from distance late into the game to put the cherry on top of a big opening win.

For a team looking for its first winning season since 2021, a hot start is just what the Rams are looking for. They will look to continue the momentum with a match against Organ Mountain at 3 p.m. today, at Rio Rancho High School.