Farmington girls, Aztec girls get first-round byes

FARMINGTON — The Aztec and Farmington girls soccer teams will have extra time to prepare for the 2017 Fuddruckers State Soccer Championships after securing first-round byes Sunday.

The Lady Tigers and the Lady Scorpions clinched the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, in the 5A girls bracket.

Both had strong résumés in 2017.

Aztec's key victories include Carlsbad, Bosque, Los Lunas and both district matches against Farmington.

"I'm excited. We definitely deserved (the No. 2 seed). We kind of had a shot at (the No. 1 seed), but I'm pretty sure we weren't going to get it, considering we lost to (Albuquerque) Academy," Lady Tigers coach Kelly Kelso said. "(Our body or work) definitely set up for the (second) seed."

Farmington's key wins include Bosque, Sandia Prep and Albuquerque Academy.

"I'm very excited. The girls worked hard, played in some big games. It's cool to see that it go rewarded," Lady Scorpions coach Brynn Cochran said.

Elsewhere, the Farmington boys will be 5A's No. 6 seed and will host district foe and 11th-seeded Aztec at 6 p.m. Friday. Farmington's key victories include 5A powers Los Alamos and Capital.

Despite expressing disappointment that Farmington was seeded lower than teams like Los Alamos, whom the Scorpions beat 1-0 this season, coach Byron Farnsworth said he likes the opportunity to host in the first round and to keep his players fresh.

"It gives you an opportunity to keep the boys chomping at the bit," Farnsworth said.

The Bloomfield girls will be 5A's No. 10 seed and will play at No. 7 Los Lunas in the first round at 4 p.m. Friday. The Navajo Prep girls will be 4A's No. 12 seed and will play at No. 5 seed Hope Christian in the first round at 3 p.m. Friday.

Cochran said it's amazing that San Juan County has multiple soccer teams in the playoffs this year.

"I think it's pretty awesome for everybody involved. I think it's huge for this area. It just speaks volumes to all the players from whatever team they're on because they're putting in the extra time and effort to perform with those Albuquerque teams," Cochran said.

All first-round matches will be played Friday or Saturday. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will all be played Nov. 2-4 at the Bernalillo Soccer Complex.

"It's going to be a strenuous three days. We're going to have strong three games. We've got a couple bumps and bruises, but nothing serious," Kelso said. "We're going to train hard for the next couple weeks."

5A state boys soccer tournament

First-round byes

No. 1 Albuquerque Academy

No. 2 Alamogordo

No. 3 St. Pius

No. 4 Los Alamos

First-round matches

No. 12 Deming at No. 5 Roswell

No. 11 Aztec at No. 6 Farmington

No. 10 Los Lunas at No. 7 Chaparral

No. 9 Valencia at No. 8 Capital

5A state girls soccer tournament

First-round byes

No. 1 Albuquerque Academy

No. 2 Aztec

No. 3 St. Pius

No. 4 Farmington

First-round matches

No. 12 Valencia at No. 5 Alamogordo

No. 11 Grants at No. 6 Los Alamos

No. 10 Bloomfield at No. 7 Los Lunas

No. 9 Artesia at No. 8 Roswell

4A state girls soccer tournament

First-round byes

No. 1 Santa Fe Prep

No. 2 Bosque

No. 3 Sandia Prep

No. 4 Socorro

First-round matches

No. 12 Navajo Prep at No. 5 Hope Christian

No. 11 Hatch Valley at No. 6 St. Michael's

No. 10 Robertson at No. 7 Taos

No. 9 Portales at No. 8 Moriarty

Matt Hollinshead covers sports for the Daily times. He can be reached at 505-564-4577.