Prep soccer and volleyball matches headlined action this past week
Farmington High School’s Amaya Hillis serves to Kirtland Central in the third game of their match at the Karlin Gym at Kirtland Central High School on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023.
Steven Bortstein
FARMINGTON – Here’s a look back at some of this week’s top prep sports across San Juan County.
Boys Soccer
Bloomfield stumbles in loss to Montezuma-Cortez
The Bloomfield High School boys soccer team had a tough week coming off a decent run in the Tiger Shootout, losing back-to-back games at home to a pair of Colorado schools.
The Bobcats dropped a 3-1 decision at home last Monday against Bayfield, then followed that up with a 3-2 loss the following afternoon at home against Montezuma-Cortez.
In the loss to Montezuma-Cortez, the Panthers were led by senior Raul Soto, who scored a pair of goals, and sophomore Isaac Dozal, who also scored a goal to lead the team to its first win of the season.
The losses dropped Bloomfield to a record of 2-4 to start the season. The week prior, Bloomfield went 2-1 in the Tiger Shootout boys soccer tournament held at the Aztec Sports Complex. The Bobcats won the opening game of the tournament 3-0 over Miyamura before a 6-0 loss to eventual champion Piedra Vista. In the consolation round, Bloomfield blanked Aztec by a final of 2-0.
Boys Soccer
Durango 8, Farmington 0
Montezuma-Cortez 3, Bloomfield 2
Bayfield 6, Aztec 0
Girls Soccer
Aztec 1, Piedra Vista 0
Farmington 9, Del Norte 0
West Las Vegas 2, Kirtland Central 1
Kirtland Central 8, Navajo Prep 0
Volleyball
Farmington 3, Kirtland Central 1 (25-12, 25-22, 25-12, 25-20)
Bayfield 3, Piedra Vista 1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-17, 27-25)
Capital 3, Navajo Prep 0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-10)
Aztec 3, Dulce 0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-21)
Piedra Vista 3, Bloomfield 1 (25-8, 25-12, 25-18, 25-19)
Girls Soccer
Farmington rolls to victory on road over Del Norte
The Farmington High School girls soccer team got goals from six different players as they rolled to a 9-0 shutout win on the road Thursday over Del Norte.
Alice Calabaza scored three times to lead the Scorpions, while Jenna Elledge scored a pair of goals to go along with Danielle Bamba, Logan Webb, Riley Yates and Elle Palmer who each found the back of the net.
“We moved the ball well and kept possession for most of the game,” said Farmington head coach Bryce Frost. “The girls have been working hard and it shows.”
The Scorpions scored six times in the first half, then added three more goals in the second half as the team improves to 2-1-1 on the season ahead of a home contest at Hutchison Stadium against Santa Fe on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Kirtland Central splits a pair of tournament matches
The Kirtland Central girls soccer team lost its opening round match of the Rehoboth Tournament on Thursday, losing 2-1 to West Las Vegas.
Shilynn Morgan scored the lone goal for the Broncos who suffered the first loss of the season.
Kirtland Central’s Paisley McGilbert kicks a free kick and scores a goal against Rehoboth Christian in the first half on Thursday, August 24, 2023 at Bill Cawood Field. (Curtis Ray Benally/Turkeyboy Photography)
Curtis Ray Benally
On Friday, the Broncos stormed back to life, getting three goals from Kymri Manning and a pair of goals from Paisley McGilbert as Kirtland Central rolled to an 8-0 victory over Navajo Prep.
Brylee Sullivan, Bella Warner and Allyson Tsosie each scored a goal in the win, improving the team’s record to 2-1 on the season and setting up a Saturday morning tournament finale against Rehoboth Christian.
“We moved the ball a lot better today and took advantage of opportunities presented to us,” said Kirtland Central head coach Kiera Smith.
Volleyball
Farmington comes up big on road over Kirtland Central
The Farmington High School volleyball team earned its first win of the season Thursday night, going on the road and beating Kirtland Central by a final of three games to one at the Karlin Gym.
Led by solid play at the net from Caris Dale, Jayla Yoder and Oschyn Henry, as well as a solid game from the service line from Amaya Hillis, the Scorpions were aggressive attacking the Broncos on all sides of the ball.
The Scorpions, coming off a tough loss last weekend in its opening game against Durango, got off to a fast start in the opening game, at one point scoring eight consecutive points on its way to a 25-12 win.
Kirtland Central fought back in the second game, which was more evenly played. The Broncos trailed 12-6 at one point in the game, but then outscored the Scorpions 19-10 to even the match at one game apiece.
The Scorpions attacked the net much more in the third and fourth games, while also getting good service play from Hillis, who forced the Broncos into a series of errors off the serve.
“(Hillis) definitely has a lot of pop at the line,” said Farmington head coach Lars Baker. “She puts a lot of speed and curve on the ball and it makes for trouble on the other end.”
Farmington won the final two games 25-12 and 25-20 to secure the first win of the season.
“There are no easy games on our schedule,” Baker said. “Kirtland Central was scrappy tonight and made us work for everything.”
The Scorpions (1-1) will be in tournament action next week in the Four Corners Honors Tournament beginning Friday at both Famington and Piedra Vista High Schools.
Kirtland Central (2-1) suffered its first loss of the season and will be back in action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when they visit Thoreau.
