ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The one-seeded St. Pius X Sartans boys soccer team go back-to-back and win the Class 4A State Championship after defeating two-seeded Gadsden, 2-0.
It was a defensive battle in the first half with the game remaining scoreless going into halftime.
Then in the 55th minute, off of a great corner kick from junior midfielder Diego Herrera, the Sartans scored their first goal off the header by senior forward Jude Benavides take the lead 1-0.
The Sartans delivered the final nail when senior forward Nico Reyes scored in the 75th minute to make it 2-0. Reyes capped off his illustrious career as the all-time leading goal scorer in Sartans history, a state title, and a goal in the state championship match.
“This is something that we’ve been, like chasing this whole season and to be able to do that today with everyone, all the fans it’s going to be more happy with all of us”, said Reyes.
St. Pius X capped off their season with a 20-3-1 record. This is the third state title for the Sartans in the last four years.
Diego Herrera said all the work had come to fruition and he was happy he and his team paid it off with a state title.
“We’ve been training since the summer and we just made sure that everybody that is in the program, even if it’s not varsity, we’re a family”, said Herrera.
It’s the third state title under head coach A.J. Herrera who couldn’t be more proud of his team.
“So happy right now. And ‘m just so proud to be the coach of this team and this program, and, the guys deserve it”, said Herrera.
