(Morgan Dzak/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — A Colorado Academy dad stood at the very top of Slater Field’s metal bleachers intently watching a high-intensity field hockey game between CA and Palmer Ridge when the Mustangs scored the first goal of the game.
“It only takes one,” he said.
The Bears must have overheard him and accepted the wisdom during the perfect time to hit back, because within the three-minute-zone of the Mustang goal, Palmer Ridge scored a goal of its own, knotting the score at 1 in the second half and ultimately sending the game to a 10-minute overtime.
But at the end of No. 3 Palmer Ridge vs. No. 4 Colorado Academy field hockey OT, the one goal each team had scored wasn’t actually enough for a win, and the players shook hands and walked away from the turf field with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday afternoon.
The top-5 matchup was a highly anticipated game, as Palmer had previously beaten CA 1-0 on Sept. 24 on the Bears’ home turf at Don Breese Stadium, snapping the Mustangs’ 78-game unbeaten streak that had stood since a 2011 state title game against Kent Denver.
And the rematch game did not disappoint, despite ending in a tie. It was a very exciting, fast-paced, back-and-forth game, filled with great ball movement, strong teamwork and obvious intensity from both teams, on both sides of the ball for an entire 70 minutes.
“This was a great game,” CA coach Veronica Scott said. “It’s very positive to have good, strong competition in this state. Palmer sets up well, reads the play well and makes the intercepts.”
Bloem Van den Berg scored a goal 11 minutes into the second half for the Mustangs, and just under three minutes later, Palmer Ridge’s Emily Munn fought through some scrum in front of the goal to slide the ball past CA stud goalie Bridget Sutter to get the Bears on the board.
This was just the second goal Sutter allowed this season, the other one from the 1-0 loss at the hands of the Bears, now 7-1-2. The Mustangs, now 9-1-2, have been a perennial field hockey powerhouse, claiming the last four straight state championships, where CA has taken down Palmer in two of those games (2012, 2014).
“Every year we say, ‘Yeah, we can beat CA,’ but no one actually believes we can beat them,” Bears junior Liz Phillips said. “But then when we beat CA, it was insane and we went wild because it’s never happened with anyone in this age group before.”
She added: “We were pumped to have the opportunity to play them again, and to come out with a draw in a game like this helps us going into playoffs.”
CA’s Nellie Turnage showcased great stick handling all game and was very quick and aggressive. Jill Murphy was also clutch for the Mustangs, and had incredible speed, quick footwork and was a defensive nightmare for the Bears’ offense. Coach Scott said Isabel Chandler also did a lot of work for CA and is a captain who leads by example and keeps the energy high.
Palmer’s Munn played really tough for the Bears and was critical in pushing the game to a draw. Shanon Snideker was also very fast, aggressive and moved the ball around really well.
“We were trying to go into this as just another game,” Van den Berg said. “Palmer is obviously really good and we won’t ignore that, but we couldn’t psyche ourselves out before the game, which is what maybe happened last time we played.”
Both teams had lots of opportunities to score, but the defenses were so tough and united, the goals remained impermeable.
“There’s a rivalry between every field hockey team and CA,” Palmer Ridge coach Paul Lewis said. “The school has won the state title so many times and has a tough program to beat with great athletes.
He added: “Everyone is waiting to beat CA and we’re just glad to get it once this year.”