Although the RRHS volleyball is usually credited with being the first Rams team to appear in a state championship game, Uwe Balzis actually had his girls in a championship game 10 years ago.

That was only a few months after the school opened its doors to students for the first time.

The Rams were playing in an independent league, not about to enter District 5AAAA until the 1998 season, when it would start facing the likes of perennial powerhouses Eldorado and Sandia. “It was a great experience and you know, for the team we had at that time, we had a lot of recreational players — it was just the best to get that far,” he said. “It was just great to make it all the way and to be the first team to be the first win that season, too.”

Lucy Gatchel, he said, was the Rams’ “big-time player, (with) great dribbling skills. Sarah Kuyper, who went on to play at Wyoming, was the goalie. Gosh, who else?”

But the Rams were without Gatchel, declared ineligible by the New Mexico Activities Association late in the season; she was sitting on the bench, watching the Rams take a five-game winning streak into their Nov. 1 championship game with St. Michael’s.

Raina Wright booted home the decisive goal in a 1-0 shootout victory over Taos in the Independent League’s quarterfinal round. Carissa Steele, whose sister, Kirsten, is on this season’s Rams volleyball team, and Linda Turrietta scored in Rio Rancho’s 2-1 semifinal victory over Hope Christian, which featured flashy forward Brittany Cooper, who went on to play at Arizona State. (The Rams had tied the Huskies and lost to them in two earlier meetings.).

But the Lady Horsemen were a bit much in the championship game, a 2-0 St. Michael’s victory.

For those with short memories, Andrea Martinez scored the first goal in RRHS girls soccer history; it came in a 2-1 loss at Moriarty on Sept. 5, 1997.

The next day, Jessica Kyle scored twice off passes from Gatchel in the team’s first victory, a 2-0 decision over Santa Fe Prep, the 1996 Independent League champion.

Also on that inaugural team, which ended its season with an impressive 14-6-2 record, were Ashley Ek, Tonna Shields, Donna Rey Shields, Taylor Hayden, Kristy Clow, Tabetha McGrath, Dena Wright, Rebekah Koepke, Alicia Waltz, Elizabeth Isidoro and Nathalie Mollahan.

The biggest difference over the past decade, Balzis says, is the skill level.

“We had recreational players and technically not sound at all. Nowadays, we have more and more players coming in who have the technique and can play the ball quicker,” he said. “We have progressed steadily over the last few years. When you compete against big schools like La Cueva, Eldorado, Sandia — they have the top club soccer players, and while we are struggling with the new area here, building and all this, we have more and more players ready, plus the clubs do a better job, too, in coaching them.”