ALBUQUERQUE — The mission for Los Alamos High School senior Chris Montoya couldn't have been any clearer Thursday morning — shadow Oscar Vela of Roswell High, Class AAAA's top scorer.

When the final whistle sounded it was mission accomplished, with Vela sitting on the Coyotes bench with a yellow card and Montoya celebrating a hard-earned 1-0 win in a quarterfinal of the Class AAAA Boys State Soccer Tournament.

"Usually when I mark people, they get mad," said Montoya after the match. "You could tell he was frustrated."

Los Alamos forward David Wyman has high praise for Montoya and the 'Toppers defense.

"Chris worked hard marking Oscar," he said. "(Chris is) fast and strong. He did amazing. I mean, (Vela is) the leading scorer in four-A."

Los Alamos (16-6), which came in as the fifth seed, advances to today's 11 a.m. semifinal match against No. 8-seed Piedra Vista, which stunned top-seed Albuquerque St. Pius X 3-2 in double overtime Thursday morning.

Vela came into Thursday's match with 35 goals and nine assists — double the goals of Los Alamos's top scorer on the year, senior Davis Anston.

But thanks to the Hilltoppers' tenacious defense, which was able to snuff out most every through ball the Coyotes attempted to get to Vela and fellow forward Zeph Jennings.

Wyman piled more high praise on the defensive backline, especially central defender Graham Delano, who spent most of the match clearing passes both with his feet and his head.

"The defense really worked hard today," Wyman said. "Graham was really amazing. He just sits back and cuts off whatever they get over us. They stopped their attacks every time."

Wyman himself drew some praise for his assist on the match's only goal, by junior Chase Havemann in the 21st minute. Wyman played a slanting through ball from the right side of the Coyotes defense to a streaking Havemann, who collected the ball just outside the 18-yard box and sent a sliding shot past goalkeeper Rafael Vigil for the match-winner.

"They were really playing on the strong side and the weak side was open," Wyman said. "I got a glimpse of Chase running through and got the ball to him."

Both teams started tentatively in the first half as they adjusted to both the artificial playing surface and the shorter, narrower fields at the Albuquerque Public Schools Soccer Complex.

The 'Toppers seemed to make the adjustment quicker and found their rhythm to control play for most of the opening 40 minutes, outshooting the Coyotes 8-3 and collecting four corner kicks to Roswell's one.

The second half was the reverse, with the Coyotes calling the tune and keeping Los Alamos under pressure with shots and possession. Roswell managed 13 shots to the 'Toppers five, but was thwarted throughout.

Vela, who managed only two shots in the match, shook Montoya in the box in the 51st minute but sent his shot high above the goal and over the fences.

Jennings had the next best chance to equalize in the 73rd minute, when a foul was called on a clearance by the 'Toppers inside their own 18-yard box. But his direct kick went straight into the hands of Los Alamos 'keeper Ryan Dunham.

Roswell (17-4) peppered away with long passes and shots in the second half in a desperate attempt to find an equalizer. But Dunham proved to be sturdy, snagging six of his eight saves after the break.

"Ryan did great," said Los Alamos head coach Evan Gartz. "He's such a great 'keeper. He just makes it look easy. It's so nice to have two effective 'keepers."

Gartz said the team is focused and ready for today's semifinal.

"The whole year we've thought we were a better team in the semis," he said. "We've wanted to get to the finals and get the blue trophy. That's been our goal all year long."