Cimarron boys soccer team overcomes injuries to reach state

Cimarron-Memorial boys soccer coach Mark Bailey vaguely remembers what he was doing in the fall of 1996.

He knows very little of the Spartans’ last trip to the state tournament.

Chances are, he’ll remember this one for a long time.

Bailey’s Spartans (16-4-2) will make their first trip to state in 18 years when they face Sunrise Region champion Valley (15-3) in a Division I semifinal at 4 p.m. Friday at Heritage Park.

Sunset Region champion Palo Verde (15-5-2) faces Northern Region champion North Valleys (21-4-2) in the other semifinal, also at 4 p.m. The championship is at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“I was pretending to be a college student at Utah Valley State College in 1996, and I did not have Cimarron-Memorial on my radar,” Bailey said.

Not many had the Spartans on their radar this year, either.

Two of the team’s leading scorers returned, but both have been injured and unable to play for most of the year. Nico DeLaTorre was lost to a foot injury and Gustavo Ortega to a back injury that he suffered last year but still hasn’t healed properly.

The Spartans’ active roster consists of players who combined to score only 14 goals last year. DeLaTorre had 17 last season.

“We knew that losing Nico would hurt us offensively,” Bailey said. “We decided to shore up some other areas. We changed the formation and shored up the defense and midfield. And we have asked a lot of Garrick (Quackenbush).”

Quackenbush, who had seven goals last season, responded in a big way, scoring 20 of the team’s 54 goals this season. Ernan Hernandez has 10 goals.

“We asked Garrick to not be a right wing, but to be the guy we knew would put the ball in the back of the net,” Bailey said. “I don’t think we’ve scored as many as we scored last year, and nothing against last year’s team, but I trust the defense and the midfield on this team as much as any team I have ever coached.”

The Spartans have relied heavily on their defense. Averaging just 2.45 goals per match, Cimarron has little margin for error, yet the Spartans are 12-2-2 in matches decided by two or fewer goals, including 8-2 in one-goal matches.

Junior goalkeeper Richard Crews has six shutouts and anchors the defense.

“Richard didn’t have a ton of shutouts, but it felt like Richard did everything we asked him to do,” Bailey said.

The Spartans also play five freshmen in regular roles. Chilo Sanchez and Miguel Rubio start, with Gustavo Garcia, Erick Cuevas and Kevin Andrade also contributing significant minutes.

“I believe in these freshmen so much,” Bailey said. “I trust them. We’re here because of our freshmen.”

The Spartans lost to Valley 2-1 in the teams’ only meeting this season. The Vikings scored in the final minute.

Cimarron lost to Palo Verde by the same score in last week’s Sunset final.

None of the Southern Nevada teams has played North Valleys this season.

The Spartans are hoping to avenge both losses and win the school’s first state soccer title.

“It means a lot to be there. It’s awesome,” Bailey said. “I wish we were hanging a regional banner, but just to be at state means a ton.”

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-5230.