(Brie Thomas/CHSAANow.com)
BROOMFIELD — With crazy winds at the start of the game, both Broomfield and Fairview girls soccer had a hard time controlling the ball and getting good shots on net.
But that all changed in the second half when the CHSAANow.com No. 5-ranked Eagles battled the No.7-ranked Knights to a 2-2 tie Tuesday night.
In the first half Broomfield’s (3-1-1 overall, 0-1-1 Class 5A Front Range) defense was able to keep Fairview from advancing far down the field, limiting the Knights to four shots on goal.
Neither team was getting clean looks, ending the first half all knotted up at 0-0.
The second half started off promising for the Knights (4-1-1, 3-0-1) as Brooke Berdan was able to knock in the first goal of the game following a mishap between a Broomfield defender and the goalkeeper.
The Eagles had the momentum for the majority of the game and but had a look of frustration their faces, after the first Fairview goal.
But Michalea Stark came to the rescue for Broomfield when she was able to slide the ball past the goalie for a quick equalizer. And she was far from done.
Nearly two minutes after her first goal, Stark marched right back down the field for another goal, giving Broomfield a 2-1 lead over Fairview.
“She was a stud up top for us, she put us on her back when we went down a goal and equalized right away,” Broomfield coach Jim Davidson said. “Her instincts were really good and she had a nice finishing night.”
Soon after Stark was able to give Broomfield the lead Sierra Szeto responded with the tying goal in the second for Fairview.
After four goals in 12 minutes of play in the second half, neither team was able to get the ball through the goalies again, leading into overtime number one of the night.
The first overtime started with the ball transitioning from team to team, going up and down the pitch but each team was having a hard time finding any momentum.
With just under three minutes to play in the first overtime, Broomfield started to gain speed and was constantly pressuring the Fairview defense. They had many close shots on net, which had the Eagles crowd going crazy.
And when that buzzer sounded to end the first overtime, and the score was still tied 2-2, the crowd was ready to see some action in the final 10 minutes.
With neither team wanting the game to end in a tie, they both fought tooth and nail to try to find a saving grace goal.
Unfortunately, neither team found that goal and after another scoreless overtime, the game ended at a stand still.
“It was a really hard fought game between two really good teams, I thought we were both pretty organized and had an idea of what each other was going to do before the game, I think both teams executed pretty well,” Fairview Coach Dan Niedringhaus said. “This was our fourth overtime game in five games, our girls are resilient this year.”
Broomfield sees Greeley West next with that game on Apr. 9. Fairview plays Fort Collins on Apr. 12.