(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — Lauren Jones’ ability to sneak past defenders and put the ball in the net was so nice, she decided to pull it off twice.
Jones scored the tying and game-winning goals in the final nine minutes as the CHSAANow.com No. 4-ranked Cheyenne Mountain Indians beat No. 1 Valor Christian 4-3 Saturday night.
On both goals, she was able to get by the Valor defenders, giving her a clean look at the net with only the goalkeeper standing in her way. And on both shots, she was able to get them under Alexandra Daws and watch as the ball slowly rolled into the net.
“I think it’s my speed,” Jones said. “I find it hard to stay onside a lot of the time so I tell my teammates to play a simple little chip so I can let the ball drop before I step in front of the defender, keep her behind me, take the touch and just shoot.”
From the onset, it was clear there was no love lost between Cheyenne Mountain (3-3 overall) and Valor Christian. The intensity of the game was high from the start with the Indians looking to show that they are still a top team in the state and the Eagles (5-1) wanting to hang on to their No. 1 ranking.
It was the Indians who jumped out and controlled the game early. With the amount of pressure that the Indians were putting on the Eagles in the first half, it was only a matter of time before they capitalized on a scoring opportunity.
A crossing pass found its way to Jones right in front of the net, However, the Jones found herself turned around and didn’t have an opportunity to take a shot. So instead, she kicked it out to Molly Darr, who put it over the outstretched hands of Valor keeper Cameryn McKinnell to give Cheyenne Mountain a 1-0 at the 23rd minute.
Unfortunately for the Indians, the lead wouldn’t hold up for long. Even worse, the goal that tied the game came off the foot of a Cheyenne Mountain player. A shot directed and Indians keep Amanda Beach was mishandled and as Valor attempted to bury the rebound, the shot wnt off the post.
Brooke Miller tried to kick the ball away, but the attempt caused the ball to go into the net, giving Eagles a goal and another chance to hang on to their No. 1 ranking.
“It’s always tough when that kind of stuff happens,” Miller said. “It happens to the best of us and it happens to everybody, but I think it shows how great of a team we are that it didn’t get us down.”
Going into the second half, Valor coach Brian Schultz kept with his system of rotating keepers. He went from McKinnell to Daws for the final 40 minutes.
The resiliency for the Indians eventually paid off in the as Brenna Deines received a pass right in front of the Eagles’ net and was able to get it by Daws to put Cheyenne Mountain back on top.
But once again, the Eagles found a way to answer, but this time it was off their own foot. A collision in the penalty box set up a penalty kick for Cam Dyke, who snuck it in on the right side, making it a 2-2 game.
And shortly after, it was Cam’s sister Cori who gave the Eagles their first lead of the game by being in the right place at the fight time as a Valor shot couldn’t be corralled by Beach. Cori slid in and found the back of a wide-open net. Suddenly, the Eagles felt like they were in control of the game.
“We did,” Shultz said. “Kudos to Cheyenne Mountain because they took it right from us. It was two good teams going at each other.”
It’s been a strange start to the season for the Indians. Their three losses have all been to Class 5A teams, but their three wins have been against teams ranked inside the 4A top 10. That includes two wins over teams who were ranked No. 1 at the time in TCA and Valor Christian.
“It’s a good statement for us,” Indians coach Tomas Martinez said. “People look at our TCA and Evergreen wins and wonder if we’re getting lucky. For our consistency to keep it going and beat these guys means a lot to us.”