Rio Rancho.

Boom! Out of here.

Albuquerque St. Pius X.

Boom! Out of here.

St. Michael's.

Boom! Out of here.

Albuquerque Sandia Prep knocked off its third reigning state champion of the season Tuesday afternoon, pinning a 3-nil loss on St. Michael's High School in nondistrict girls soccer at Brother Abdon Field.

Of the victories over the Class AAAA champ (Rio Rancho), the AAAA champ (St. Pius X) and the A-AAA champ (St. Michael's), only one exacted a measure of revenge.

"They had a purpose to this game," Rick Smith, Sandia Prep head coach, said.

Elena Benavides, who netted two goals, concurred.

"Just coming back from state, we wanted to prove ourselves," the senior captain said.

Ah, state.

That's where St. Michael's defeated Sandia Prep 2-1 in November 2007. The match went three overtimes.

The loss lingered.

"They talked about what happened last year," Smith said.

It was news to him.

Smith spent the past 4 1/2 seasons as a goalkeeper coach at Rio Vista, one of the most successful club teams in Albuquerque and the state. Before that, he was a University of New Mexico volunteer goalkeeper coach for two seasons.

"They're educating me on all the teams," Smith said in his thick East London accent.

Smith replaced Rob Minear, who guided Sandia Prep to three state championships since 2002. The Lady Sun Devils also reached two other finals under Minear, whose contract was not renewed.

Smith inherited the most talent-laden team in A-AAA.

"They are going to be tough to beat," Ed Velie, St. Michael's head coach, said. "I think they'll be there (in the state final). We hope we get there and get a chance to see them again."

If there is a next meeting, the Lady Horsemen hope to be at full strength.

Jamie Palermo, who leads A-AAA in scoring, did not suit up against the Lady Sun Devils. She injured a quad muscle against Farmington and the decision was made to rest her.

Her absence was noticeable.

St. Michael's (10-3) did not attempt one shot in the first half. The Lady Horsemen finished with nine. Most came in the final 25 minutes and after the deficit reached three goals.

"Incredibly," Velie answered, when asked how much the offense was affected. "It would have been the same had Sandia Prep not played with Elena and Julia (Thompson) and had Melina (Toman) been sick.

"Had we had our whole team, could we have beat them? I don't know."

The St. Michael's defense was under constant pressure, but goalkeeper Margaret Hickey was the saving grace. She stopped Thompson with one hand, deflected Toman's point-blank shot with two hands and keep the net free of goals for 39 minutes.

But with intermission looming and the ball 12 yards from the goal, the scoreless deadlock ended. Three Lady Horsemen failed to clear the ball out of a scrum and when Hickey left her line to help, Lindsay Reid poked the ball into the open goal.

"It was a cheap goal, but they outplayed so well it was probably inevitable," Velie said.

The same could be said for Benavides, who has a long, long history of scoring goals against the Lady Horsemen. Benavides earned her first varsity letter when she was a 4-foot-11 eighth-grader. Now a 4-11 senior, (Sorry, Elena, your teammates decided you are not 5-feet), Benavides continues to torment St. Michael's.

When Thompson dribbled the left flank, faked back toward the middle and turned baseline, she had an open path to the goal. But instead of shooting first, she slotted the pass to Benavides, who was at first surprised.

"Actually, I was not," Benavides answered, when asked if she was expecting the pass. "Julia did all the work, so I felt like I had to finish it for her."

Benavides didn't need an assist on her second goal. Again, the attack came from the left. Again, the goal was a surprise.

"I thought I would get knocked off the ball," Benavides said. "I was just hoping for the best."

Well, Sandia Prep (9-3), winner of its last eight in a row, never looked better.

"Today, we've seen what potential they had," Smith said. "They lived up to what they are capable of."