James Barron
Santa Fe New Mexican, Oct 28, 2026

Mya Hinojos’ absence Friday afternoon, when the Pojoaque Valley Elkettes needed her the most, wasn’t malicious.

It was just that Pojoaque Valley girls soccer rarely has so much at stake.

A planned weekend trip at the end of the regular season wasn’t supposed to complicate things for Pojoaque, but when thunderstorms forced the postponement of Thursday’s District 2-1A/3A match with West Las Vegas to the following day, it did just that.

Who knew the Elkettes would be battling for the runner-up spot in the district and a home match in the Class 1A/3A state tournament? After all, Pojoaque hadn’t recorded a winning season in 15 years, and had gone to the state tournament only once, in 2006 as the 12th and final seed.

But Year 2 under head coach Andrew Romero offered something different — hope. A senior-loaded team with some promising underclassmen coalesced into a unit that was more than competitive. Pojoaque finished second in the district — another first for the program — with a 0-0 tie against the Lady Dons, and an 8-4-8 record that was enough to get the Elkettes their first home contest for state.

Pojoaque, the eighth seed, will play No. 9 West Las Vegas in the opening round Thursday, with the winner advancing to a quarterfinal matchup at Santa Fe Prep on Saturday afternoon.

Romero said he was hopeful the Elkettes would be competitive this year. It took one tournament in the first week of the season to be convinced of that.

“We went to a tournament in Bernalillo, and we didn’t lose any of the first three [matches],” Romero said. “We tied every single one, and I think that was their ‘Oh’ moment for them.”

Ties to the host Spartans, East Mountain (the fourth seed in the 1A/3A bracket) and Navajo Prep at the tournament in late August led to a 5-2-5 start that included wins over district foes Academy for Technology and the Classics, defending 1A/3A champion St. Michael’s — yes, another first for the program — and West Las Vegas, which were the confirmation any Elks fan needed of the team’s ability.

Pojoaque leaned on a defense that allowed no more than two goals to any opponent except one: the second-seeded Santa Fe Prep Blue Griffins, who scored 13 goals in two district matches.

The Elkettes had every reason to doubt their coach’s optimism. After all, they won just seven times in the previous five seasons, including a 2-16-1 mark that included a winless District 2-4A record. But playing teams like Los Alamos, Taos, and Moriarty helped Pojoaque when it moved down to 1A/3A.

It suddenly found it could compete at this classification. But the Elkettes also bought into Romero’s vision and spent the offseason working on conditioning and skills in preparation for the season. Those sessions also had a side effect.

“More chemistry started to occur,” Elkettes senior forward/goalkeeper Nyana Reyes said. “In the years before, Pojoaque soccer just really clashed. None of the girls liked each other, and now, we’re all really good friends off the field.”

With the improved chemistry came better communication among the Elkettes, which was needed because injuries and absences often forced players to move around the field to fill holes. Last week’s win over the Lady Dons showed that. Pojoaque focused more on defense and had only one forward to pressure West Las Vegas. Reyes, who was also nursing an injured left hand, was part of a three-player rotation up top, which meant fellow senior Gerrianna Romero went in goal.

Romero put on a superb performance, with a dozen saves, including five in the last 15 minutes, as West Las Vegas kept pressing to break the tie.

“I feel very confident I can put them at multiple positions,” Romero said. “If I see a certain position that needs a little more help, I’ll grab somebody and put them in another position. And I think each of them developing well-rounded skills definitely helps.”

Romero expects a slightly different game plan for the third matchup with the Lady Dons, especially with Hinojos returning to help with the back line. Reyes will also return to her goalkeeping spot, and that could give Pojoaque a better attacking formation.

“Lots of high hopes,” Romero said. “When I told them at the beginning of the season we were gonna go to state, they were kinda hesitant to believe me. As the days went on and on, and I started to tell them about rankings and everything, they started to believe.”

Perhaps the Elkettes will learn to plan vacations around the soccer season next year.