The Englewood High School girls soccer coach urged his players
to work on their skills over spring break because they face two
major tests when they return.
Students return to school March 31, and the soccer schedule
quickly sends the Pirates back into action. They are on the road to
meet two of the best teams in the league: March 31 at D’Evelyn and
a makeup game April 2 at Golden.
“These are big games for us, and we have to be ready to play our
best soccer,” Pirates soccer coach Bill Gilmore said after his
team’s March 22 non league game. “D’Evelyn and Golden are among the
best in the league, and a win or tie against one of them would
boost our effort to finish high enough in the league standings to
earn a spot in the state playoffs.”
Englewood’s next home game is April 8 against Summit. Home games
are played in Englewood High School Stadium. Kickoff for weekday
games is 7 p.m. and admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students
with school identification.
The Pirates closed out the schedule before going on spring break
with a March 22 game against Denver Christian, a contest that
proved to be a battle between two evenly matched team. A goal in
the waning minutes of the game proved to be the difference and
Denver Christian won, 3-2.
The score was tied 1-1 at halftime. The Pirates’ first goal was
scored by Kacii Aceves. A few minutes into the second half,
Englewood pulled ahead 2-1 on a goal by Kayleigh Kebbe, her third
goal of the season.
“I got my goal off a rebound,” she said. “There was a scramble
in front of the net with everyone trying to get a foot on the ball.
I saw the ball come out. It was on the ground so I slid, kicked it
and it went in under the goalie. It was a good feeling, because we
needed that goal.”
Denver Christian responded, stepping up its attack. The
Crusaders tied the score about halfway through the half then scored
the winning goal with just over two minutes left in the
game.”
The returning letter winner said, although this is a young
soccer team, the Pirates are playing well together.
“We have been playing pretty well so far and work to get better
every game,” Kebbe said. “I think, as a team, we are playing better
at this point in the season than our team was playing at the same
time last year. We are working on improving a lot of areas, and I
believe we will be a very good soccer team by the end of the
season.”
Sarah Drayton was assigned to play a new position as she moved
from playing goalie to being one of the team’s starting
midfielders.
“Being a field player was different as I had to change my focus
and how I think about the game,” she said. “I didn’t play very well
early but I’m getting better, I think part of that was due to the
fact that, in the early games, I was thinking like a goalie. Now, I
have adjusted and I have adjusted my thinking to the position I
play.”
She is settling in well to her new position, and she got her
first goal of the season in the March 14 game against
Alameda.
“I got the ball in the open, had a clear shot at the goal and
put the ball in the net,” she said. “It felt really good to score a
goal for our team.”
Drayton said she is excited about this season’s prospects. She
notes the coach has put a lot of emphasis on training techniques to
develop stamina.
“We can see the difference in our physical fitness as we play
games,” she said. “We can play hard and stay with the other team’s
players the whole game. It used to be we got tired and sort of gave
up late in the game. I am excited about the way we are playing
soccer, and I think this will be a good year for us.”
Gilmore agreed with the assessment this could be a good season
for the Pirates.
“I feel we are learning, improving and getting better every time
we take the field,” he said. “Our goal is to make the playoffs and
if we play hard for the rest of the season, I believe we’ll land a
spot in the postseason.”
303-566-4108|tmunds@ccnewspapers.com