Cienega, under longtime coach Tony Torres, completed its 5A Southern schedule Tuesday night with a 5-1 victory over host Desert View — a convincing win that gives the Bobcats confidence heading into next week’s first Open Division playoffs in girls soccer in history.
Cienega, which closed its regular season Thursday at Tempe Corona del Sol, is rated No. 21 in the latest Open Division rankings.
Six Southern Arizona schools from four different regions are presently among the top 32 teams in the Open Division:
No. 13 Buena (13-1, 5-0 5A Southern)
No. 16 Walden Grove (9-1-1, 5-0-1 4A Kino)
No. 18 Salpointe (7-2-2, 3-0-2 4A Kino)
No. 21 Cienega (11-4, 4-1 5A Southern)
No. 22 Douglas (15-1, 4-0 4A Gila)
No. 29 Catalina Foothills (9-3-1, 8-1 5A Sonoran)
“It’s going to be new; we’ll have to figure it out,” Torres said about the Open Division. “We’ll go in and try to compete. I recognize the areas that we have some shortcomings because we’re young, but I think we can still compete in the 5A.
“We’re going to see Chaparral and Notre Dame Prep and all those big schools. We’ve seen them in the past but this year’s different. It gives us an opportunity to try the Open (Division) and see what it’s like, but I think we’ll have a good opportunity in the 5A tournament.”
Cienega coach Tony Torres has impacted countless young soccer players as a coach and mentor for more than 30 years. His style is constructive. In the time I was around the Bobcats tonight on the sideline during Cienega’s 5-1 win over Desert View he was never overbearing on his… pic.twitter.com/HxgrIuFOkd
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 5, 2025
If Cienega happens to lose in the first two rounds of the Open Division, it would shift to the 5A state tournament. Any school that get past the first two rounds of the Open Division ends its season by either winning the title of the tournament or getting eliminated.
Torres, in his seventh season as Cienega’s head coach, admits his team is exceeding expectations because only two seniors are among his top nine players who have multiple goals this season.
“What’s exciting about this year’s team is we have six freshmen; last year, we lost 10 seniors and this year, we have four” Torres said. “We’ve had some injuries with our seniors that they’ve had to work through. They keep coming back.
“Our youth is going to be important as we move forward. When you lose 10 seniors and five of them are playing college soccer, that really impacts your program. … They’ve beaten some real good teams. (Catalina) Foothills is an amazing team. Tucson High is an amazing team. We’ve had our challenges. They’re doing a good job.”
As of Thursday, Cienega is 10-1 in games recognized by the AIA, which does not include in-season tournament games in its power-rating formula.
Two of the top players in Southern Arizona – Cienega’s Kylie Krebs and Cayla Jones. Each scored in tonight’s 5-1 win over Desert View in the last regular-season match of the season. Jones scored twice and leads the Bobcats with 18 goals. Krebs has 16. They will lead Cienega into… pic.twitter.com/BZ2TtXXBM1
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 5, 2025
The Bobcats’ top player is senior forward Cayla Jones, who made two goals against Desert View and has 18 this season with eight assists (44 points). She had 12 goals and five assists (29 points) in the two previous seasons combined.
Jones and junior forward Kylie Krebs are difficult to defend when both are attacking aggressively and getting well-timed passes from junior Hazel Ramos (team-high 11 assists).
“I’m excited (about playing in the Open Division),” Jones said. “It’s going to be a challenge but I think it’s going to be one that we can take on.”
The only loss for Cienega in the eyes of the AIA was a 3-2 setback in overtime against 5A Southern champion Buena at home on Jan. 23.
The Bobcats’ other two losses were against No. 5 Gilbert Highland (14-4) and No. 19 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows (12-7-1) in the Bohdie Larson Celebration Classic in early January at Mesa.
Cienega’s Kylie Krebs and Cayla Jones discuss the impact longtime coach Tony Torres and his staff has made on them. pic.twitter.com/XGBkQnn64u
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 5, 2025
The reason why Cienega is competitive and is not hesitant to schedule heavy is because of Torres, who has coached at various levels for more than 30 years.
He has served as a coach with the Pima County Surf over the last two summers after spending a decade coaching with the Tucson Soccer Academy. He also has a background coaching youth soccer with FC Tucson.
One of his coaching highlights was leading the Surf 21U team to a Desert Conference championship in their first season two years ago. That team with many local standouts outscored its opponents 25-1 while going 5-0-1.
Torres coaches with a calm sincerity, strong in his demeanor but not burdensome in his approach with his players.
“(Torres) makes you confident in yourself and builds you as a player,” Krebs said.
“I agree,” Jones said. “He is all about the team first. He lets us lead the team and he steps back. That really helps us as a team bond.”
Torres, 50, said his experience as a coach since he was 16 leading youth teams has been a “roller coaster.”
“You have your highs and you have your lows,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so amazing.’ And then you have those losses and you question all the things you’re doing.
“But it keeps me young, for sure.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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