Forty-eight stories await to unfold.

That's one for every high school soccer team — boys and girls — remaining in the state soccer tournaments from Class A-AAA to AAAAA. And every single program harbors a hope, a dream or even an illusion that it can hoist the blue championship trophy Saturday.

Six of those tales reside in the North, and three within the confines of Santa Fe.

What happens during today's quarterfinal action at the Albuquerque Public Schools Soccer Complex (for AAAA and AAAAA) and in Rio Rancho (for A-AAA) will determine whether those narratives will add an extra paragraph or come to a conclusion for the 2009 season.

All that is left is the anticipation of 80 minutes of soccer, and the outcomes that come from it.

• • •

Ed Velie believes his team will play on Saturday. The 15 girls who dot the roster for the St. Michael's Lady Horsemen, who are coached by Velie, are aiming even higher.

They've sought redemption with a championship ever since Bosque School's 1-0 win over St. Michael's in last year's A-AAA semifinals. Guess who could be waiting for the second-seeded Lady Horsemen should they beat No. 7 Bloomfield in a quarterfinal at the Albuquerque Public Schools Soccer Complex?

That would be the defending state champion Lady Bobcats, the third seed in this year's bracket.

"I know they want to win it very badly," Velie says of a state title. "They are on their own mission. I told the girls, 'Whatever you decide to do in state, you need to decide that on your own.' "

Velie decided he had a team capable of playing for the title before the season began in August, when he told the players' parents at a meeting. While the Lady Horsemen have hit some bumps in the road — like going 1-6 against teams seeded in the top six in A-AAA or AAAA — they managed a 1-0 win over Bosque School on Oct. 15 to solidify a two-seed.

The win came during a four-match shutout string before a 2-0 loss to Los Alamos on Oct. 24. The last 13 days have been dedicated to eight-on-eight scrimmages with the boys team, which is seeded third and plays Rehoboth. It also was a time to overcome injury, which midfielder Derrian Medina did after an ankle injury against the Lady Hilltoppers, which was welcome news to Velie.

"When we didn't have Derrian, it reminded us how useful she is," Velie says. "Our defense gets the ball to the center-mid(field) and then they knock the ball to her on the outside. She is fast enough to get to any of their passes and make it look good. She's kinda of like our secret weapon."

• • •

There was a time when the St. Michael's and Santa Fe Preparatory boys teams were consistent presences in A-AAA's Final Four.

Starting with the inception of five classifications in 2000, both programs made it to the semifinals five straight years and St. Michael's was a finalist from 2001-04. But since 2006, neither have advanced to the next-to-last-day of the season.

The Horsemen and Blue Griffins are a pair of quarterfinal wins from revisiting those days — and meeting up in a semifinal. St. Michael's faces Rehoboth, while the No. 7 Blue Griffins play second-seeded Bosque School.

St. Michael's head coach Merritt Brown says improved coaching in A-AAA has raised the level of competitiveness. He cites Hatch Valley's semifinal appearances in 2006 and 2007 and defending A-AAA champion Bosque School as examples of that improvement

"I think we've started to see a little more parity with other programs in other parts of the state," Brown says. "The class (A-AAA) has been dominated by Sandia Prep — and they still do dominate — but that doesn't always last forever."

Both programs are hoping for a revival, and standing in their way are teams filled with quickness and play a physical style. Brown didn't have much of a scouting report of the Lynx, but he compared both teams' common opponents.

St. Michael's is 5-3 against those teams, Rehoboth is 4-4.

"This should be one of the best games of the state tournament," Brown says. "We just match up really well with them, and we play the same style."

Prep head coach Hersch Wilson has a more complete report — the Bobcats beat the Blue Griffins 7-0 on Sept. 12.

"We need to slow them down," Wilson said. "We need to mark them for a full 80 minutes. We can't come out slow and give them opportunities."

• • •

Excellence through push-ups and Albuquerque St. Pius X.

It's the strategy Los Alamos boys soccer head coach Evan Gartz used for the last 10 days. For every mistake or mental lapse the fifth-seeded Hilltoppers committed in the days prior to a 3-0 win over No. 12 Roswell Goddard in the first round of the AAAA bracket, 10 push-ups were the penalty.

Day 1 showed how far they had to go.

"That first 20 minutes (of practice), I was seeing them on the ground every two minutes," Gartz says.

The players had no choice but to improve, and they did. Then came a flat first half against the Rockets, which was not a part of the program.

Still, the first hurdle was cleared. The next comes in the form of the No. 4 Roswell Coyotes.

But Gartz is not preparing for them. It's the likely semifinal opponent he's focused on — the top-seeded Sartans, who are the seven-time defending AAA champs.

His rationale is simple.

"We played them (a 5-1 St. Pius win on Oct. 13), and saw what they could do to us," Gartz says. "I know how prolific a scorer Roswell has (in 35-goal scorer Oscar Vela) and we are very mindful of that. But we know what Pius can do, and we've tried to prepare ourselves to play a better game against them. If we can do that, there's no reason we can't get past Roswell."

• • •

That's four stories out of 48.

Come Friday, 24 will remain.

Which ones will they be?