On Tuesday, the boys and girls varsity soccer teams travelled up to Los Alamos for their second district games.

The Los Alamos bays are ranked fourth in the state in 5A and always play well at home. The game started with swirling winds which carried the distinct bite of winter. Los Alamos and the Academy had faced off in the Academy Tournament with the Academy winning 3-0. This time, Los Alamos had their captain back and added an extra player in the midfield, making it much harder for the Academy to play their usual style.

The Academy tried playing more directly and were rewarded when Charles Touche ’17 headed a deep throw in towards Alex Touche ’17 who caught the ball on his chest and volleyed it into the back of the net before the defense or the goalie could react. A few minutes later, Jazz Henry ’19 received the ball on a switch through the defense, took space towards mid-field and sent a long ball back across the field to Owen Keleher ’18 who trapped the ball, shielded the defenseman and slotted the ball home as the keeper came off his line. The Academy was up 2-0 before fifteen minutes had passed and had score on two of their first three shots. The rest of the half the Academy controlled the majority of the play but continued to find less space in the midfield than usual.

In the second half, Los Alamos had the wind and sun at their back and came out determined to get back in the game. The Academy was equal to the pressure and found space down the wing. Six minutes in Jackson Taylor ’19 broke down the right wing, combined to get in and sent a perfect pass across the top of the penalty box. Charles laced the ball on net and the goalie parried it. Mateo Centenera ’20 gobbled up the rebound, but had his back to the goal. He laid the ball off for Owen to send home for the third tally of the game. Minutes later, Los Alamos took a long range speculative shot which Lucas Schlenzig ’18 lost in the sun. Goal. Los Alamos started attacking with renewed vigor and attempted several more long shots. The Academy found chances on the other end and just missed scoring twice when Hardy Stone ’18 and Paul Devine ’17 were unlucky in finishing dangerous crosses close to goal. The game ended 3-1.

A few hours later, with loud support from the boys in the stands, the girls finished off Los Alamos by the same score.

The boys are now 11-2-1 and next play Del Norte on Thursday at home.