oliveyrkitegan: Bears, Hawks Roll

La Cueva Upsets Sandia, Will Face Volcano Vista

The 2011 La Cueva High School Girls Soccer Revenge Tour rolled merrily on Friday afternoon.

And there will be one final stop, in the backyard of the team the Bears perhaps want to gain a measure of revenge against most of all.

In Friday?s semifinals, fifth-seeded La Cueva overcame No. 1 Sandia in penalty kicks, while No. 3 Volcano Vista edged 10th-seeded Cleveland. The Bears face the Hawks today at 3 p.m. for the Class 5A state tournament title. It?s a rematch of the 2010 final, won in PKs by Volcano Vista.

LA CUEVA 3, SANDIA 2 (SO): First Rio Rancho. Now Sandia. The Bears (16-5) have already overcome two teams they couldn?t handle in the regular season. Next is Volcano Vista, which beat La Cueva 2-0 a few weeks ago.

?Round two,? La Cueva coach Amber Ashcraft said.

The Bears won Friday?s shootout 4-2. Overtime was required when Sandia?s Alicia Sanchez scored on a penalty kick in the 75th minute of regulation.

Senior Morgan Kellogg had the game-winner in PKs, a shootout that was dominated by La Cueva senior goalkeeper Taylor Chagnon ? a strategic midgame substitution.

Chagnon, who entered at halftime for sophomore starter Sam Johnson, made consecutive saves on Sandia?s Caitlin Mortensen and Victoria Barba.

?There?s a lot of pressure, but I kind of enjoy the adrenaline,? said Chagnon. ?I?ve done this before, and I have confidence out there on the PK line, and I go with my gut.?

So did Ashcraft. Sensing that OT and PKs were a distinct possibility, she brought in Chagnon to begin the second half.

?You know, the game has to end, and unfortunately, it has to end that way, but it?s hard,? Ashcraft said. ?It?s absolutely about ?keeper skill and placement, and my ?keeper came up huge.?

Dee Johnson, Courtney Riley, Taylor Settercerri and Kellogg had the goals in the shootout for La Cueva.

Sandia had the early lead on Sophie Mancha?s goal in the third minute. Settercerri tied it in the 49th minute and Dee Johnson?s rebound goal gave La Cueva a 2-1 edge in the 61st minute.

As for Sandia (18-2), which has been nationally ranked almost the entire season, the loss extends a streak for No. 1 seeds. Not since 2006 has one reached the 5A final.

?This was our sixth (shootout) of the year, and we were successful the previous five,? Matadors coach Vladi Stanojevic said. ?Inevitably, you?ll be on the other end.?

VOLCANO VISTA 2, CLEVELAND 1: With some nifty English on the ball, Ashley Williams, 5A?s leading scorer, had a goal directly off a corner kick in the 20th minute, and Hope Cruz capitalized on a loose rebound in the box in the 40th minute for the Hawks (17-3), who ousted their District 1-5A rivals.

?We?re very excited,? Hawks coach Samantha Lucero said. ?It was just crazy, knowing we?d have to play Cleveland again, but we played well, connected on a lot of passes, took a lot of shots, and lucky for us (two) went in.?

On the Williams goal, she simply was looking to have a teammate help.

?I wanted to get it to the far post, and hope someone got a head on it,? she said. ?I guess I bent it more than I thought.?

Cleveland (13-7) got its lone goal in the 72nd minute from Julissa Hunte.