Lady Tigers gearing up for state playoffs
Special to the Times | Curtis Ray Benally
Aztec striker Rheala Herrera headbutts the ball into the net and scores a goal against Kirtland Central's Hope Chapman (left), Brylee Sullivan (3) and Amber Shorty (11) in the second half on Oct. 24, at Fred Cook Stadium in Aztec. The Lady Tigers defeated the Lady Broncos 5-2.
WINDOW ROCK – Aztec girls soccer coach Leroy Nelson praised his players for making the necessary adjustments needed to upend Kirtland Central on Tuesday night.
The Lady Tigers put across three goals in the second half for a 5-2 win after battling KC to a 2-2 halftime tie.
“Our passes were more accurate, and our touches were way better and so we were able to get some open runners and open shots,” Nelson said.
The Lady Tigers got two goals from senior striker Rheala Herrera as she scored her 22nd and 23rd goals of the season.
“Since day one when I took over the program, she was the fastest player on the team,” Nelson said of Herrera, who’s verbally committed to Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.
“Her touches from then to now have been way up there,” he said. “Once she starts to dribble and with the pace that’s she’s going, it’s hard to keep up with her. Her shots and techniques have greatly improved and her awareness on the field has also improved.”
Aztec also got one goal each from Autumn Villanueva, Summer Steele and Alisia Valerio in Tuesday night’s triumph.
The three-goal win secured Aztec’s seventh consecutive district title as the Nelson-coached team will close out their regular season hosting Gallup on Thursday for Senior Night.
“We teach them the fundamentals when they come in as eighth graders,” Nelson said of the recipe of success. “We see where their progressions are, and we just keep going from there. It’s been an ongoing process.”
Nelson said his veteran and young players see roughly 3,000 touches per practice, which aids in their development.
At 11-4-3 overall and 8-1 in District 1-4A play, the third-year Aztec coach is confident about next week’s state playoffs.
“Our program is going to new heights and we’re peaking at the right time,” he said. “We have eight seniors and this is going to be their last state playoff run. We just got to wait for the seeding process to see where the NMAA is going to place us.”
As of Monday’s MaxPreps statewide rankings, the Tigers were holding on to the No. 5 spot at the 4A level.
“We keep going back and forth between 4 and 5,” Nelson said. “Our players have been playing very well and I expect them to keep playing like the way they are.”
Since its 2-1 loss to district rival Bloomfield on Sept. 28, the Aztec coach said his team has turned a corner.
“We had a coaches meeting and we evaluated what we were lacking,” Nelson said. “We weren’t connecting with our existing formation so we switched it up. Ever since Bloomfield, it’s worked because our shots on goal have doubled, and our scores have doubled and it’s working.”
With eight seniors, Nelson expects next season to be a rebuilding year as the rest of team is made up of two juniors and seven sophomores.
“We have a lot of veteran players that will be graduating, but we’re still going to have a presence,” he said. “I’m very excited about the kids coming back. We have sixth graders all the way up to the junior class that are ready to go.
“They’re already talking about spring training,” Nelson added.
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