<body><div>FARMINGTON – Both Farmington and Piedra Vista High Schools boys and girls soccer teams opened their respective District 1-5A campaigns at home and on the road Wednesday afternoon.Here’s a recap of how these teams fared in important district showdowns.Girls SoccerSenior Emilee Miller’s first goal of the season couldn’t have come at a better time, as Rio Rancho scored a 1-0 victory on the road, beating Farmington by a final of 1-0.After a scoreless first half, Miller got the Rams on the board in the 10th minute of the second half, collecting a pass as she broke free from a pair of Farmington defenders and powered a shot past Scorpions junior goalkeeper Ashlynn Sandoval for what turned out to be the only goal of the contest.Both Sandoval and Rio Rancho keeper Tegan Chaves had big nights in front of the net. After the Rams got on the board, Chaves was under siege quickly, facing several shots from close range, coming up big in earning the shutout victory.Sandoval did her part as well, cutting off passing lanes and getting in the way of a couple scoring chances by the Rams to keep the score close.Farmington falls to 8-3-1 on the season (0-1 District 1-5A) and will look to bounce back on the road Saturday at 1 p.m. against Cleveland. The Scorpions entered the week ranked sixth in Class 5A according to the most recent Maxpreps polling. Rio Rancho (6-5 overall, 1-0 District) will face Volcano Vista on Saturday.Boys SoccerThe Rio Rancho High School boys soccer team dominated Farmington, beating the Scorpions 9-0 Wednesday night at Rio Rancho High School.The Rams demonstrated hustle and communication that Farmington could not match in any phase of the game. Rio Rancho’s aggressive offensive attack was led by multi-goal efforts from seniors Aaron Meserve, Bryson Strohecker and Mateo Dean who led the group with three goals.The Rams immediately put pressure on the Scorpions, kicking the ball deep into Farmington territory. Not even a full minute into the contest, Meserve took advantage of the field position from the opening kick to find empty net on the right side of the goal post, sneaking it past Farmington goalkeeper Trejin Toledo.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1vW97F_0vjzmPhb00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1vW97F_0vjzmPhb00" width="1066" height="1600" ><figcaption>Volcano Vista's Jovany Orona and Piedra Vista's Diego Quezada chase down the soccer ball near the sideline in the second half on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at Piedra Vista High School soccer fields. (Curtis Ray Benally/Special to the Tri-City Record)</figcaption></figure>Farmington had its chances to get on the board early in the contest with a couple of corner kicks, but Rio Rancho’s defense proved to be too tough, taking advantage of the lack of aggression from the Scorpion offense.The Rams continued to use the lower corner of the right side of the goal, displaying powerful shots from 15 yards out by both Dean and Strohecker who gave the Rams a 5-0 lead going at the end of the first half.“Our ball movement and some of the things that we were working on in practice went right today, it was nice to see the guys really put that into play against an opponent today,” Rio Rancho head coach John Shepard said. “A lot of these guys have been with us for three to four years so they have earned the trust that they get to make decisions and adjustements on the field.”Strohecker continued to stifle the Scorpions defense with shifty footwork in crowded lanes that led to two goals in the second half, putting the game out of reach.The win improved Rio Rancho to 9-2 (1-0 district) on the season and extended the Rams current winning streak to seven games.“We don’t look at the streak because we’ve always got something we think we can do better,” Shepard said. “One game at a time and let’s getter better on the next one, so that is where our focus is at.”For the Scorpions, the loss puts Farmington at 3-8 (0-1 district) on the season and will welcome Cleveland on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Hutchison Stadium.</div></body>

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Farmington, Piedra Vista soccer teams fall in district openers

FARMINGTON – Both Farmington and Piedra Vista High Schools boys and girls soccer teams opened their respective District 1-5A campaigns at home and on the road Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a recap of how these teams fared in important district showdowns. Girls Soccer. Senior Emilee Miller’s first goal of...