Pat Rooney
On the eve of the theatrical release of the movie “Clash of the Titans,” two local girls soccer titans collided on the pitch in a matchup that served as an intriguing pre-conference measuring stick for both squads.
For Pine Creek, losers of a 2-0 decision at Lewis-Palmer on April 1, the loss was a blip the Eagles hope will be but a minor setback during what otherwise has been an impressive start.
For the Rangers, however, the victory validated their torrid start and served notice they should be one of the teams to beat once the Class 4A postseason rolls around. LP took a perfect 6-0 mark into its second conference match against Widefield on Monday, having outscored its opponents 36-5.
“Five out of six have been very tough games, and [Pine Creek] was the toughest,” LP coach Ian Wale said. “The best thing about all of it, we know we can still play better than that. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We haven’t won anything yet. April is when you qualify for state, but let’s make no doubts about it — the [first] six games have been fantastic, but our season doesn’t [really] start until the first of May.”
The Rangers’ impressive start has been highlighted by explosive scoring performances, including a 10-0 win against Wasson, an 8-1 decision against Smoky Hill, and six-goal efforts in wins against Durango and Liberty. Following the Pine Creek game, the Rangers boasted three players who had scored a team-leading seven goals — senior Sammie Lewis, and juniors Noelle and Virginia Limbird.
Despite those gaudy totals, however, LP is proving to be a formidable defensive force as well, a trait that likely will prove to be a bigger key for the Rangers than their offense as the season progresses. The all-senior back line of Kelley Quinn, Nicole Schumacher, Natalie Hourigan and Katelyn Johnson barely allowed a scoring chance against Pine Creek and has provided an impermeable wall in front of junior goalie Brandi Arsenault.
“To hold Pine Creek to no goals, I don’t think many teams can do that,” Wale said. “Quite honestly, I don’t think they even looked like they were a threat to scoring. Our back four players and goalkeeper have been outstanding, because we do commit players forward and expose them. But our philosophy is simple — if they do score three, we’ll score four. We work hard to keep a clean sheet though. We have a great goalkeeper and I think we have some of the best defenders in the state.”
Despite the setback against LP, Creek has hardly done anything to rescind its status as one of the top clubs in Class 5A. The Eagles, which completed nonconference play at Highlands Ranch on Saturday before diving full-on into their league schedule at Air Academy April 7, outscored their opponents 15-5 in their first four games, all wins, but will need to correct their second-half lapses in order to wreck further havoc in league play.
Pine Creek surrendered both goals to LP during the second half, a trend that has victimized the team too frequently in the young season. The Eagles have worked through several minor injuries that have muddled the rotation Creek expects to display down the stretch.
“I still think we have the strongest team we’ve had since we started the program,” Pine Creek head coach John Frederick said. “We’ve got the depth. We have players that work hard and give it their all. We’ve missed some strong players, and once we’re all healthy we’ll be okay.”