Volcano Vista, Eldorado, La Cueva among the Class 5A contenders
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Who is the best high school girls soccer team in New Mexico?
The answer to this question, for five years, has been the same: Hope Christian.
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Whether this is true for the 2026 season is a storyline that has yet to play out, but the Huskies (4-0) will face a terrific challenge Tuesday night in the Albuquerque Metro Championships.
Hope plays Volcano Vista (4-0) in one of the two semifinals at the APS Complex. The other metro semi features La Cueva against St. Pius.
A metro-centric look at the season:
CLASS 5A: There is nothing on the girls soccer menu anywhere in New Mexico more compelling than the rivalry between defending state champion Eldorado and La Cueva.
The Eagles have a new coach in Matt Simonds. Their coach last season, Aaron Forrester, is now at La Cueva. This should make for one of the most unique chapters between the two.
Eldorado (2-2-1) has double-digit seniors on its roster, and is poised to be a challenger deep into the season once again. And many of them were on the field when the Eagles defeated Rio Rancho 2-0 for the 2025 title.
“One of the exciting things about a school like this,” Simonds said, “is that’s the expectation.”
Probably the biggest challenge is Simonds being new as he learns his players and his players learn his coaching style and philosophies.
Senior forward Sienna Montoya, who had 15 goals last season and has four already this August, provides a strong, physical presence. She is the type of player, Simonds said, that fits his style.
Gianna Gurule, a junior attacking midfielder, also returns, as does senior goalkeeper Addy Daniels.
La Cueva (3-0) has an abundance of young faces, including four freshmen and seven sophomores.
“I am really excited about the amount of talent that is here,” Forrester said.
The Bears were taken out in last year’s state semifinals by Eldorado. In addition to the younger players, La Cueva also brings back seven seniors who know what expectations are in this storied program, which has a state-leading 17 championships.
“We need to live up to those standards,” Forrester said.
Top returners for the Bears include senior goalkeeper Ciena Carabajal, senior center back Lexi Bachuzewski and senior forward Sadie Ramos.
“I want us to be very physical,” Forrester said. “I want us to move the ball and let the ball do the work on the field.”
The youngsters coach Ashley Nieder inherited at Volcano Vista are all seniors now, and this is the most experienced team in 5A, with every starter returning.
“Volcano is far and away, to me, the top dog,” Forrester said. “They are really, really good. I think they’re the team to beat.”
Volcano Vista lost in the semifinals to Rio Rancho. This core group that has been together, Nieder said, wants to end this journey with a blue trophy — finally.
“The seniors are playing for each other,” Nieder said. “It’s going to be a battle this year, and I think my girls know that. Our biggest thing is we have to put the ball in the net more (in the playoffs) than we have in the past.”
Midfielder Kasey Sandoval, who has been brilliant throughout her career with the Hawks, including 25 goals last season, leads the way. She has five goals already this month.
Two members of the back line, senior Lara Shelle and Alyssa Trujillo, anchor things at that end. Larissa Burton, a freshman midfielder, is going to provide a spark.
Since last year, the Hawks also picked up a key transfer in Miley Aguilar, who scored 15 goals last season for Albuquerque High.
Half of the 5A state quarterfinalists from last season hailed from District 1, including Farmington and Piedra Vista, and this remains probably the strongest overall 5A league.
Rio Rancho has a strong group returning from a team that made it all the way to last season’s last game.
Junior goalkeeper Tegan Chaves is back. So is last season’s leading goal scorer, sophomore Danae Lee, who had 17 tallies. Sophomore center midfielder Taylor Roskos and senior center back Makayla Dubois are also players to watch for the Rams (3-1; the one loss was a 2-1 decision to Hope), who bring back seven starters.
Cleveland has a new coach in Shannon Gill, who is the sister of Storm boys coach Shaun Gill. She last was the coach in Farmington about a decade ago. She played at Hobbs and later for TCU.
“We might surprise some people,” she said.
This roster has just three seniors, but has a solid group of underclassmen, she added.
Top players for the Storm include senior center midfielder Aliyah CdeBaca, plus two solid goalkeepers in seniors Brianna Fujihara and Rio Rancho transfer Hailey Anglin. Junior Rhyan Dooley keys the back line.
From District 5, Albuquerque High has been running this league for years. That is expected to continue.
This Bulldogs team, coach Serina Griego said, is very young. It’s led by senior captains, midfielder Joslin Sells (15 goals last season and four so far this year) and center back Camila Silva. Freshman midfielders Hope Sells and Gemma Cok are part of what Griego says is one of 5A’s best midfields.
AHS is starting at least four freshmen, Griego said, who have to adjust to this level.
“I do believe we have the capability to be in the top five in the state this year,” Griego said.
CLASS 4A: There are few platitudes left to describe the brilliance and dominance of the Hope Christian girls, who are going after a sixth consecutive state title in November.
And the Huskies (4-0) are going to be the overwhelming favorites in 4A this fall.
Hope has already beaten last season’s two 5A finalists, Eldorado and Rio Rancho, and has a tantalizing matchup Tuesday against Volcano Vista in the metro semis.
“I just think it’s a year where anyone can beat anyone,” Huskies coach Amy Fankam said. “It’s a matter of us putting the pieces together. … They look great.”
This roster is stacked with talent. There’s senior midfielder Bryson Fankam (last year’s Gatorade Player of the Year), who is going to Boise State, and senior defender Islah Stansfield, who is going to sign with Pitt. Bryson Fankam has yet to play as she comes back from ACL, but is expected back very soon.
Other names to watch (among many others) include sophomore forwards Brooklyn Fankam and Mechi Garbarino. Fankam already has five goals, Garbarino four.
You can expect both St. Pius and Albuquerque Academy to make challenges against Hope.
The Sartans were a state semifinalist last November, and they are off to a 3-0-1 start as they prepare to face La Cueva on Tuesday.
“I love my team this year,” coach Nick Madrid said.
It’s a young group overall, with a handful of talented eighth-graders.
“They’re the real deal,” Madrid said.
Those youngsters are working alongside some veterans, like senior forward Vanessa Cichy (41 goals last season and five already this year), plus senior forward Aubrey Rodella. Freshman Kayla Herrera had 20 goals as an eighth-grader and already has three tallies in four matches this season.
“Front to back,” Academy coach Andrew Wiese said, “they are the deepest and most talented team.”
St. Pius only graduated two seniors off last year’s roster.
“I put us right there with Hope,” Madrid said.
Academy lost in the state final to the Huskies last year. In fact, it has fallen to Hope in each of the last three 4A title matches.
One of the key changes is in net, where sophomore Lill Mechenbier steps in for All-Stater Sophia Hasse.
But Academy does have talent and experience in plenty of other spots. The midfield is strong, led by seniors Cambria Tero and Selena Broussard (who can also play forward), and the defense is led by senior center back Addison Cates. Junior Amelia Barnes has four goals already this young season, after 21 a season ago.
“When we’re clicking, I think we’re competitive with anybody in the state,” Wiese said.
CLASS 1A-3A: Bosque School has been to the state championship game in three of the last four seasons.
The Bobcats were beaten 1-0 by St. Michael’s in the 2025 state final after knocking off Sandia Prep and top-seeded Cottonwood Classical Prep in the previous two rounds.
But Bosque’s task is going to be more complicated this year. The program graduated eight seniors and it wasn’t until last Monday that the school determined it would even have a team this season because the numbers are so low — only 14 for the varsity — coach Johnny Moya said.
But the Bobcats do have three All-State players returning in freshman center backs Irina Walkington and Bailey Bird, plus senior midfielder/forward Layla Chimenti, who tallied 27 goals last year.
“I think we have a chance,” Moya said. “Bosque has always been a team that has done more with less.”
Joe Martinez is the new coach at CCP, as the Coyotes look to continue their run. They were in the state final two years ago and in the semifinals last season.
“We have a bunch of great players,” Martinez said. “We’re trying to build that team chemistry.”
CCP has six returning seniors, including forward Ryah Carlson (who already has six goals this season), defender Abby Dyer and center back Lily Ten Eyck.
Junior Sophia Soriano, who scored a team-leading 36 goals for the Coyotes and was her district’s player of the year, is not returning. She transferred to La Cueva.
“Hopefully,” Martinez said, “this will be our year. That’s what we’re working towards, getting to the finals and getting over the top.”
Sandia Prep, meanwhile, should be a handful. The Sundevils only lost two starters off their state quarterfinal squad. Another transferred out of the program.
With most of the nucleus back, coach Matt Westerlund said, Sandia Prep is poised to make some noise — both in its district, which includes Bosque, CCP and another metro-area quarterfinalist, East Mountain — and the playoffs in general.
This roster, the coach said, is a mix of good young talent, plus the experience from the 2025 team.
“I’m certainly optimistic for this year,” Westerlund said.
Senior center mid Camryn McWilliams and senior center back Elly Hering are among the top returners for Sandia Prep. The Sundevils also have two dynamic scoring threats in freshman winger Isabel Hernandez and sophomore forward Keira Rodriguez.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at [email protected] or via X at @JamesDYodice.