Wheat Ridge senior Shelly Browne (12) gets her foot on the ball in front of Mullen junior Penelope Arnold (10) during the first half Thursday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — The final score didn’t tell the story Thursday night at Lakewood Memorial Field.
Mullen took a 4-1 victory over Wheat Ridge in girls’ soccer action, but the Mustangs (3-3) had to withstand a stretch of 25 minutes in the second half where the Farmers put constant pressure near Mullen’s net.
“Wheat Ridge is a good team,” Mullen’s first-year coach Mark Dougerty said. “They put us under pressure scoring in the first couple minutes of the second half, but I’m proud of my girls. They weathered the storm.”
Wheat Ridge freshman Alexandra Nillen (9) take a corner kick during the second half Thursday night. Nillen had a corner kick set up the Farmers’ lone goal in a 4-1 loss to Mullen. (Dennis Pleuss)
Mullen held a 2-0 lead at halftime with goals by freshman Caleigh Michael and senior Regan Weber off corner kicks. Weber was able to bend her corner kick into the goal in the 36th minute to give the Mustangs’ a two-goal lead.
The only bad news for Weber was she turned an ankle and didn’t play much after halftime.
“The poor girl has had some unfortunate luck this season,” Dougerty said of Weber. “She is a key player for us. In the short amount of time she was out there you could see what she adds.”
Wheat Ridge (3-2) quickly answered in the second half with its own goal off a corner kick. Senior Carlee Flanagan headed in a centering pass from freshman Alexandra Nillen into the back of the net to cut the Mustangs’ lead to 2-1 three minutes into the second half.
Flanagan’s goal energized the Farmers. Wheat Ridge spent the next 25 minutes of play nearly entirely in Mullen’s defensive zone looking for the equalizer.
“We felt like we could get one (goal), control possession and shift the momentum. We did that the first 25 minutes or so,” Wheat Ridge coach Dan Watkins said. “They weren’t clean looks or clean opportunities, but we were putting the pressure on.”
Mullen was finally able to generate its own scoring chance in the 69th minute. The Mustangs worked the ball in front of Wheat Ridge’s goal and junior Natalie DeBartolomieis powered home Mullen’s third goal to regain the two-goal cushion.
“I was just really relived,” DeBartolomieis said. “I knew that once we got the third goal we would have everything under our belts. We just had to focus on defending at that point.”
A minute later the Mustangs took a 4-1 lead. Sophomore Megan Delmonico buried a penalty kick past Wheat Ridge freshman goalie Abby Bausch.
Mullen junior Penelope Arnold (10) tracks down a ball during the opening half Thursday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We had such great momentum. I think after Mullen scored again it kind of brought us down,” Flanagan said of the Mustangs’ third goal. “We had the possession. It was just really frustrating. It was unlucky.”
Mullen junior Alexis Glogiewicz picked up the victory in net for the Mustangs. It was the second victory this week for Mullen after suffering back-to-back losses to Regis Jesuit and Castle View last week.
“I think we’ve built a lot of confidence,” DeBartolomieis said. “We are really looking forward to the rest of our season.”
Mullen won’t get back on the field until after spring break. The Mustangs next game is scheduled for April 4 when it travels to face Battle Mountain.
Wheat Ridge will also have its spring break next week. The Farmers return to action against Class 4A Jeffco League rival Green Mountain on April 2 at Lakewood Memorial Field.
“Every one of these girls wants it,” Flanagan said. “We’ll work really hard over (spring) break to go hard against Green Mountain.”
Mullen sophomore Olivia Szeliga (8) tries to clear the ball out of the Mustangs’ defensive zone as Wheat Ridge sophomore Nikki Strickler closes in Thursday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. Mullen took a 4-1 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)