The Desert Academy boys soccer program is getting closer.

But the Wildcats will have to wait until 2010 to continue their progress.

Albuquerque Hope Christian scored two goals in the first 20 minutes of a Class A-AAA State Tournament first-round match against Desert Academy, which held up in a 2-0 win in Albuquerque.

The fifth-seeded Huskies (10-11) play No. 4 Ruidoso in an quarterfinal on Thursday.

The Wildcats finish 2009 at 12-8 and earned a second straight postseason appearance.

"We are on that path (of improvement)," Desert Academy head coach Rob Lochner said. "That is happening now every game, every year. We play a team once and they beat us, and the second time we get a little closer. This was our first time against Hope's varsity. Next time it will be a different story."

But back to the first time. Hope Christian captain Sam Westlake scored off a corner kick in the fifth minute to open the scoring.

"We had a defensive mess-up, which caught us off-guard," Lochner said.

In the 20th minute, Josh Edwards added an insurance goal. After that, it was a back-and-forth affair with neither team finding the back of the net. The Huskies held a 14-13 shot advantage, while Wildcats goalkeeper Jeremy Upsal had six saves. One of them came on a penalty kick in the 30th minute.

Girls soccer

Class A-AAA State Tournament

No. 5 Socorro 2, No. 12 Santa Fe Prep 0

Short of a Emily Hickmott header off of a well-placed corner kick in the 70th minute, the Blue Griffins never really mounted much of a scoring threat in Friday's opening round of the Class A-AAA State Tournament.

Without much of an offensive threat, Prep's defensive game went for not as Socorro broke open a 0-0 halftime tie with a Desiree Armijo goal in the 60th minute and another from Janell Lopez in the 76th minute.

"Socorro's definitely a good team, but we never truly tested their 'keeper," said Prep head coach Steph Coppola. "I was very pleased with my 'keeper (Sarah Simis) and my defense. They played super all the way through."

Coppola said sophomore Ellie Stone and Molly Leonard also had strong games.

Prep ends the season with a 5-13 record.

Volleyball

District 4AA championship

Mora 3, Pecos 0

The top-seeded Rangerettes (17-4) spent most of the week preparing for Santa Fe Preparatory, but perhaps the Lady Panthers were the jolt they needed.

They wrapped up their fifth straight 4AA crown with a 25-13, 25-14, 25-18 win in Joseph Montoya Gymnasium.

"With Pecos coming (to Mora), maybe it motivated them a little bit more," Mora head coach Leslie Vigil said. "They had Prep on their minds for so many days, then it was like, 'OK, not we get to play someone we didn't think of.'"

Mora's Brandy Romero served eight straight points in Game 1 to get Mora off to a good start. Andrea Romero came on in the second game for 10 straight service points to turn a 4-1 deficit into an 11-4 lead.

Mora plays the District 1AA runner-up — Rehoboth or Navajo Pine — next week in the opening round of the Class AA State Tournament.

District 3AA championship

Peñasco 3, Questa 0

After splitting two regular season matches in five-game marathons, the Panthers took the drama out of Friday's championship match in a hurry, dominating visiting Questa 25-14, 25-19, 25-10.

"At the middle of the season, we had our struggles — we lost six in a row then won six in a row," Peñasco coach Maxine Abeyta said. "Tonight, they all played well and really played together. I don't think I've seen them play this together since the (Northern Rio Grande Tournament on Sept. 4)."

Junior Shannon Gonzales led the way with 10 kills, three blocks and 16 service points for Peñasco (12-7 overall). Sophomore Chelseas Visarraga had eight kills and 21 service points while junior Lexy Trujillo added eight kills.

Peñasco will play the District 2AA runner-up in next week's state tournament. Questa will play the 2AA champion.