Knowing her team would miss the W-League soccer playoffs with a loss, Mile High Mustangs co-captain Katie Antongiovanni took matters into her own hands — and feet — against the Denver Lady Cougars.
Antongiovanni notched her first hat trick of the season in Mile High’s 3-2 victory July 13 over Denver at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. The win in the Mustangs’ home finale kept the team in the playoff race and ensured the first winning season in Mile High’s five-year history.
“It’s like I tell her (Antongiovanni), if she’s not the best, she’s always one of the best players on the field and she proved that tonight,” Mustangs’ coach Danny Sanchez said. “We’ve pushed her up top the last couple of games, and she’s responded with goals. That’s what we’ve been looking for.”
Only the top two teams in the Western Conference qualify for the playoffs. Vancouver (12-1 record) ran away with first place and Arizona (10-3-1) clinched the final playoff spot Friday.
Mile High needed the Lady Cougars squad to beat Arizona to stay in contention for a postseason berth. However, the Heatwave ended the Mustangs’ playoff hopes with a 2-1 win Friday over Denver.
The Mustangs (9-4) won their fourth straight game Friday with a 2-0 shutout victory Friday on the road against the Fort Collins Force. When looking back, Mile High’s three consecutive losses in the middle of the season to Vancouver, Denver and Arizona prevented the Mustangs from punching their ticket to the playoffs. After starting 5-1, Mile High fell to 5-4 before making a final push for the playoffs.
The play of forwards Antongiovanni, Ymara Guante and Mary Everett, along with goalie Jessica Keller against the Lady Cougars showed why the Mustangs could earn a 10-win season if they beat Fort Collins in the season finale at 6 p.m. Friday, July 22, at Force Field.
Battling a cross-town rival that handed them a 3-2 setback in the team’s last meeting, Antongiovanni gave Mile High a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute on a pass from Everett. The visitors knotted the score on a header from Kristen Kemp that surprised Keller inside in the 15th minute and the game remained tied at intermission.
The Lady Cougars grabbed a 2-1 edge four minutes after halftime, but the Mustangs responded after a corner kick from Antongiovanni. She circled back into the play, took a feed from Orly Ripmaster inside the goalie box and buried a strike in the 70th minute.
The Mustangs’ co-captain notched the winning goal eight minutes later when she broke free inside the Cougars’ zone and slid a shot past Denver goalie Ashley Sheppard.
“I was just trying to keep it low and see what happens,” Antongiovanni said of the hat trick. “It’s good for our team. It’s good for our fans.”