(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
MANITOU SPRINGS — Manitou Springs didn’t get hit with quite the bad weather that a lot of the Front Range did on Wednesday. But the Mustangs had no shelter from the blizzard of goals that Jefferson Academy was able to put up.
The fourth-ranked Jaguars (3-1 overall) netted three goals in the first half as they cruised to a 5-0 over Manitou in a Class 3A game at Richardson Field.
“We just came together as a team,” junior midfielder Samantha Spitz said. “Once we get that momentum we just go as a team and work really well together. We encourage each other.”
Spitz put the Jaguars on the board in the ninth minute of the game. On a Jefferson Academy corner, she was able to find space and head the ball past Manitou keeper Monique Heiniger.
And once the Jaguars had the momentum, it was difficult for the Mustangs (1-2) to keep pace. The strength of the Manitou roster comes from its younger players. They return Brooklyn Mack, who stood out as a freshman last season, but five of their six goals on the season have come from current freshmen Bridget Bodor and Olivia McKenna.
The Mustangs were certainly outmatched from a skills perspective, but it was their relative inexperience that really played a role on their end.
“I figured it probably would be,” coach Ben Mack said. “(Jefferson Academy) is a very good team. They played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for a championship last year, so they’re right there as the class of (Class) 3A.”
The Jaguars increased the lead in the first half off goals from Michaelah Ingalls and Tara Nelke and added two more in the second half, including Spitz’s second of the game, to come away with the win.
Even with the Mustangs being inexperienced and not quite the program they have been in years past, coach Denise Sutton knew that a win was anything but guaranteed.
“We wanted to play strong and that’s our goal every game,” she said. “Every team can beat us, so wanted to come down and play our strongest and that’s the expectation. Even if you get beat, as long as you play well, it’s okay.”
The cohesiveness of the offense and the ability to spread the scoring around show Sutton and her players that they are still quite the force to be reckoned with in 3A.
The win over Manitou gives them a confident edge as they face a looming match-up with The Academy, who currently sits at No. 3 in the CHSAANow.com soccer rankings, one spot ahead of the Jaguars.
If Sutton sees more of what she saw from her team Wednesday night, she knows they have a shot to win the battle of two top-10 teams.
“The girls are super unified when it comes to their passing structure,” Sutton said. “They really know where they’re supposed to go and it just helps when a team is able to read each other the way that they’re able to.”