CLASS A-AAA BOYS STATE SOCCER; SIXTH-SEEDED LYNX FIGHT OFF HORSEMEN, FACE SECOND-SEEDED BOBCATS; UPSET IN THE QUARTERS.

Byline: JAMES BARRON

RIO RANCHO -- Nobody messes with Kenny Briggs.

If anyone does, Ryan Postma will exact retribution.

And so when

St. Michael's forward Eric Fishback exchanged heated words and shoves with Briggs, the Rehoboth goalkeeper, Postma took note.

"I'm not gonna let anybody push my goalkeeper," Postma said.

Postma made the Horsemen

pay in the 65th minute, when he chipped in a breakaway shot for his second goal Thursday, and it gave the sixth-seeded Lynx a 2-1 upset over No. 3 St. Michael's in the quarterfinals of the Class A-AAA Boys State Soccer Tournament at Rio Rancho High School.

Rehoboth (12-9) advances to play No. 2 Bosque School, which beat Santa Fe Preparatory 8-1, in a semifinal today at 11 a.m. St. Michael's finishes the 2009 campaign with an 11-10 record, and a bittersweet memory of its first foray into the second week of the tournament in five years.

"In the end, we were unlucky," junior midfielder Pat Rodriguez. "Just very unlucky."

Postma, who scored the opening goal in the 19th minute when he knocked in his own rebound, found his motivation when the Horsemen tied the score at 1-all in the 55th minute.

After eighth-grader Peter Barkey sailed a 45-yard shot over Briggs' shot, Fishback sauntered over to the Lynx goal.

What happened next were shoves and words as a pack of Rehoboth players surrounded Fishback. Fishback and Briggs were given yellow cards, but the Lynx came out energized after the score.

Postma had a shot blocked by Horsemen fullback Quinn Butler just a minute later, and Jared Baade's rebound attempt was left of the goal.

Luke Morrison took a feed from Postma and had his try from the left side of the field hit the right post and bounce away in the 60th minute.

St. Michael's head coach Merritt Brown said the Horsemen implemented a new defensive alignment, using three defenders in the back row and two midfielders patrolling the middle of the field.

The idea was to eliminate midfield attacks that sometimes plagued them.

"In past games, we were letting guys run up through the middle of the field," Brown said. "We wanted to improve on that. We had some pretty good ball handlers up there, but then they were getting focused on trying to push themselves forward."

That forward thinking played right into Postma's hands.

He took a deep pass from Morrison as he beat Doug Sperling, then he chipped the ball under a charging Arthur Dejarnette in goal for the match-winner.

But the team's leading goal-scorer deflected all praise to his teammates.

"Everyone sets me up to score, so I can't take any credit for that," Postma said. "I just kicked the ball into the back of the net."

Rehoboth head coach James Rich said Postma does more than that.

"He's a big boy out there," Rich said. "He's big, very strong and very athletic. He's very quick. He surprises a lot of defenders with how quick he actually is."

For the next 15 minutes, St. Michael's tried to find openings in the Lynx defense.

Its last, best chance came in the 71st minute when Travis Ish floated a pass to Sam Spinale, and his one-touch shot zipped left of the goal.

"It was very deflating," Brown said. "We kept fighting and fighting, but I think the kids started pressing a little bit more. We started to reverse and get the ball in the middle instead of wide. When we get the ball wide, we are a dangerous team."

The Horsemen have nine months

to reflect and get back into the Class A-AAA state title picture.

Rodriguez feels the offseason will be a crucial time for St. Michael's to make those gains.

"I think I definitely learned that it's all hard work," Rodriguez said. "Come in every day to practice, and work hard."

And don't mess with the Rehoboth Lynx. At least for this year.

Contact James Barron at 986-3045

or [e-mail].