Evergreen sophomore Ryan Gutberlet (21) settles the ball down during the Cougars’ 6-0 win Thursday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
EVERGREEN — The defending Class 4A boys soccer state champions began the 2016 season right where they left off.
Evergreen, ranked No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com preseason poll, opened the season Thursday with a dominating 6-0 victory over Palmer at Evergreen High School. Five different Cougars found the back of the net in the first 45 minutes.
“It feels like we’ve been in preseason forever,” Evergreen coach Ross Fowler said. “It is good to be in the regular season. We love coming out here and playing.”
The non-league game against the Terrors (0-4-1 record) was actually cut short. A lightning storm quickly moved in after Evergreen senior Steven Belrose put in his second goal of the game five minutes into the second half.
Evergreen senior Brock Anderson (7) and Palmer junior Max Rajendran (11) race after the ball. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Officials put the game into a delay with 32 minutes, 40 second remaining in regulation time. The decision was made quickly to call the game because of the lightning, but since the game was in the second half it was already an official game to get the Cougars off to a 1-0 start.
“I just wanted a good start to the season,” said Evergreen senior Richard Benson, who scored the Cougars’ first goal in the ninth minute with a header off a corner kick from Belrose. “We obviously have a target on our back and we want to get back to that state championship.”
Evergreen defeated The Classical Academy 1-0 in the 4A state championship game a year ago to give the Cougars their first boys state soccer title since 1989.
Junior Brendan Maus, along with seniors Adam Babb, Brock Anderson, Benson and Belrose all scored in the first half Thursday night to give the Cougars a commanding 5-0 lead at halftime. Four of the first-half goals all were assisted goals as Evergreen showed off its scoring ability.
Evergreen sophomore Ryan Gutberlet (21) battles with Palmer senior Malcolm Wright (14). (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“Our motto is possession,” Benson said. “We like to go up the flanks and just try to go as quick as we can. We’ve got a lot of speed. We want to keep the ball and put it in the goal.”
Palmer wasn’t able to get a shot on goal against Evergreen senior goalie Logan Westgard in the first 40 minutes. Junior Brian Belrose took over in the net in the second half for the Cougars in the eventual shutout victory.
“We know we’ll be reasonably strong going forward,” Fowler said. “We have really put a lot of focus on defensive shape, defensive pressure and decision making. The first thing we wrote on the board tonight was protect the shutout.”
Fowler believes his squad has more depth that last year’s state championship team. However, the Cougars know they will get everyone’s best game this season.
“We’ve got to make our mark as the frontrunners again,” Steven Belrose said. “Everyone wants a piece of the best team. We’ve got to bring it every night.”
Evergreen will get a great test when it travels down to Colorado Springs next Tuesday, Sept. 6, to face No. 4 ranked Air Academy (3-0).
“(Air Academy) is obviously a really good team,” Benson said of facing the Kadets next week. “It is always fun to go out there. I think it will be a good game and a good test for us.”
Evergreen senior Adam Babb (9) attempts to get past a host of Terror defenders. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)