The Lady Dogs are rolling into state. Winners of 13 of their last 14 games, the Artesia girls’ soccer team enters the 2026 Class 4A state tournament as the No. 5 seed with a 16-3-1 record.

The Lady Dogs face Taos at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at Robert Chase Field.

Taos stands in the way

Taos enters the tournament at 10-5-1. The teams’ only common opponent is Moriarty. The Lady Tigers beat Moriarty 2-0 on Oct. 13 and lost 3-0 on Oct. 22. Artesia beat Moriarty 10-0.

Artesia coach Tim Trentham said he expected the Lady Dogs to earn the fifth seed and face Taos.

Trentham said the Lady Dogs have had three days of practice this week and are ready to play.

Trentham expects Taos’ defense to be formidable, but he does not expect the Lady Tigers to score against the Lady Dogs defense.He also noted this will be the first meeeting between the two teams and is excited for the matchup.

A quick turnaround

“It is going to be tough to have two games in a two-day time span,” Trentham said.

A win Thursday would leave little recovery time before the Lady Dogs face the winner of No. 4 seed Albuquerque Academy and No. 13 seed Moriarty on Saturday. Trentham said his players would need time to rest and prepare.

Win or go home

“I think it is exciting,” Trentham said of his team being in a one-and-done scenario. “It gives us a little bit of pressure that we have not had in a while.”

Trentham said it is nice to know it is all or nothing at this point in the season.

Artesia has earned the No. 5 seed and a home game in the round of 16 at Robert Chase Field for the second consecutive year.

Last year, Artesia beat Goddard 2-1 on a penalty kick to advance to the quarterfinals against Los Alamos.

JT Keith can be reached at 575-420-0061 or on X at @JTKEITH1.