It quickly became obvious midfield was the place to be.
It was the spot Sandia Prep rushed to when it heard the final whistle blow. It was the location the Sundevils grabbed their nearest teammates and jumped up and down, and even attempted to form a dogpile. It was the site where a few tears — of happiness, of course — were shed.
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“I think I’m on top of the world right now,” senior captain Camryn McWilliams said. “I have never felt better.”
Winning your final high school game can have that effect. When it’s for a state championship? Well, that tends to make it even better.
That’s certainly what made Friday all the more special. Thanks, in part, to a sophomore.
Kiera Rodriguez? Please stand up.
Rodriguez scored in the 72nd minute to lift Sandia Prep to a 1-0 win over Cottonwood Classical for the Class A-3A title, the school’s second in as many days.
Sandia Prep won the boys Class A-3A soccer state title Thursday.
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The girls program follows suit Friday.
Sandia Prep 1, Cottonwood Classical 0. pic.twitter.com/MqNbN06Bc8
— David Glovach (@DavidGlovach) November 6, 2026
Sandia Prep captured the boys championship with a 3-1 win over New Mexico Military Institute on Thursday. It’s the ninth time in school history the Sundevils won a girls and boys title in the same season and the first time since 2022.
Friday marked the 14th championship overall for the girls and the sixth for coach Matthew Westerlund. It was the second runner-up finish for Cottonwood (19-4), which it also did in 2024.
“Last year, when we were bounced out of the tournament in the quarterfinal round on penalty kicks by Bosque, everybody had a wake-up call,” said Westerlund, a former captain himself . “It was a realization that this isn’t going to be given to you. It’s going to be something we have to earn and prove to ourselves and everybody who’s played at Prep because it is a bit of an expectation.
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“But it’s something that we wear on our chest and shoulder proudly, and something we embrace.”
That, perhaps, took a little bit of time this season.
Sandia Prep (17-6) lost six of its first nine games before closing the season with 14 straight wins and saw it outscore its opponents 73-4 over that stretch with 10 shutouts.
That includes Friday once Rodriguez broke away from a defender and hit the bottom left of the net.
“I was like, “This is it,'” said Rodriguez, whose older sister Kaylin won four titles at Sandia Prep. “‘This is my chance to prove that we should be the state champions. I feel amazing and it feels amazing to win. I’m just so glad I could do it for everyone and so thankful I could make my team happy.”
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The Sundevils were. When they reached midfield. When they gathered for the trophy ceremony afterward. When they received their winners’ medals from Sandia Prep boys coach Tommy Smith, who Westerland captained and played for. The two coaches shared a hug, too.
There was just the matter of where to continue the festivities. They couldn’t stay at midfield forever.
“I think we should all get ice cream,” Rodriguez said.
And the flavor?
“Oreo,” Rodriquez said.
A rather cool way to end the day for another Sandia Prep soccer team.
David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X @DavidGlovach.
