The Los Lunas Tigers boys soccer team (5-0) ascended a peak that the program had previously never reached on Monday.
After a strong showing at the Louie Cernicek Tournament in Los Alamos last weekend that saw the Tigers lift the trophy, the program was ranked as the No. 1 team in the state by maxpreps.com.
It is the first time in program history that the Tigers have been the top ranked team in the state.
In previous seasons, LLHS had been rated as the top team in its class, but never the top team in New Mexico. The honor comes with a ranking as the No. 16 team in the nation as well.
The Tigers played twice in less than 24 hours heading into the tournament, and head coach Eric Chavez was worried about his team coming out lackadaisical, but it proved not to be an issue as the team went 3-0, beating Clovis 1-0, Roswell 2-0 and finally Los Alamos 2-1 to lift the tournament trophy.
Jordan Arballo starred once again for the Tigers in the title match, adding two more goals to his tally.
The win over the Hilltoppers served as a bit of revenge for LLHS, as the ‘Toppers ended the Tigers season in last year’s state semifinals, 7-0.
The Tigers returned nine starters from that group who now possess the belief that they belong in that conversation as one of the top teams in the state, Chavez said prior to the season, and the team has officially turned heads now.
A district title is the main target for the team the rest of the way, which they hope will set them up for another deep run in the state tournament.
The Tigers will play again this Friday against Bosque School at home at 4 p.m.
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April 18, 2024
