ALBUQUERQUE — And 365 days later, the circle is complete.

Nov. 7, 2008 is a day Kelsey Neal wants to erase.

But the Albuquerque Academy Lady Chargers want to repeat it.

So on today, Nov. 7, 2009, one wish will be realized.

Or one dream will be replicated.

Exactly one year ago, the Chargers showed that two shots on goal can trump nine when a girls soccer title is on the line, and the victims were Neal and the Los Alamos Lady Hilltoppers.

Fast forward 364 days later, and the Lady Hilltoppers pushed themselves one match away from redemption when they beat Albuquerque St. Pius X 2-0 in the Class AAAA state semifinals on Friday.

Los Alamos, seeded second, has a rematch with No. 1 Albuquerque Academy, the defending AAAA champion, which beat No. 2 Albuquerque Volcano Vista 2-1 in a shootout. Sitting on the rock formations to the north of Field No. 2 at the Albuquerque Public Schools Soccer Complex were the Lady Hilltoppers, facing the dilemma of playing the team that crushed their dreams in 2008 or the team that last beat them (by a 2-0 score on Sept. 23).

Neal acknowledged that avenging last year's 1-0 loss, decided on Bridget Hill's goal in the 67th minute, has been a motivating factor all year long.

"We dominated that game but we came out on the losing side," Neal recalled. "We've lost to them two years in a row at state. It's not going to happen again."

The best way to do that is to prevent the Lady Chargers from scoring, and for the last 10 matches, no opponent has scored on the Lady Hilltoppers. In fact, the last time Los Alamos (18-3) gave up a goal was against Volcano Vista. That was something lost on the Lady Hilltoppers.

"Was it Volcano Vista?" senior fullback Laura Nelson asked. "It has been that long. That feels pretty good."

Nelson felt a couple of lumps form in her throat, though, against the third-seeded Lady Sartans (15-6), who couldn't match the size of Los Alamos. So they tried to beat the Lady Hilltoppers to loose balls and utilize their speed.

It almost worked.

St. Pius midfielder Christie Barela fired a breakaway shot high at the net in the 19th minute, but Los Alamos goalkeeper Jenny Tumas plucked it from the cold night sky. Tumas wasn't as lucky 17 minutes later, as she was out of position on Adriana Naranjo's cross to Barela. Fortunately, the right post had her back as the ball clanged off metal and bounded away.

"We just got a little more lucky," Los Alamos head coach Jiri Kubicek said. "They hit the post, we hit the post. They had their chances on goal. Jenny had several super saves."

Los Alamos finally made good on its chances when it pulled the ball away from the penalty box and used the leg of Nelson. She boomed a direct kick in the 61st minute from about 50 yards out into the box, and the ensuing scrum led to a Lady Sartans foul on Shannon Blair.

Given a penalty kick, Neal easily hammered her shot to the right of St. Pius 'keeper Alexandra Gallegos for 1-0.

Five minutes later, Nelson was called upon to launch a pass into the box. Ameba Neal stuck her head out and deflected the ball into the upper left hand of the goal for a two-goal margin.

"It's a team effort," Nelson said. "Putting that ball there and having (Amelia) in position to get it, it's just a team effort. I'm not really that concerned with getting the assist there."

Nor will there be any concern with getting credit for what happens against Academy.

What matters is erasing a piece of Los Alamos' past.

For more photos from Friday’s state soccer tournament matches, go to http://tinyurl.com/yfezlql

State Soccer Tournament
APS Soccer Complex, today
Girls
Class A-AAA
Championship
St. Michael’s vs. Albuquerque Sandia Prep, 10 a.m.
Class AAAA
Championship
Los Alamos vs. Albuquerque Academy, 6 p.m.
Boys
Class AAAA
Championship
Los Alamos vs. Farmington, 11 a.m.