Jamie Burke takes a free kick resulting in a goal and a 1-0 lead for Cheyenne Mountain. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — If Tuesday night was any indication, Cheyenne Mountain is going to be a very dangerous team when healthy.
Sure the CHSAANow.com No. 4-ranked Indians came away with a 4-1 win over No. 10 Evergreen, but they came into the game plagued with injuries and needing spring break to come sooner than later.
“We have a game against Doherty (Wednesday),” coach Tomas Martinez said. “Then we’re going to take 10 days off, get healthy and enjoy spring break.”
Jamie Burke had already put the Indians (2-2 overall) up 1-0 off a free kick from 20 yards out and that goal gave her teammates a little jolt. Marrisa Dowlin found the night right away. Nine minutes later, Piper Negaard caught Evergreen keeper Sarah Straut out of position and, scoring easily to make it a 3-0 game.
“Everyone was a little nervous especially coming off a loss to Broomfield,” Burke said. “Getting that goal under our belt, we were able to regroup and know that we can handle our business here even with players down from injuries and sickness.”
The Cougars (2-2) were not without their chances on the day. Sofia Weiner pushed the attack early and even fire off a couple shots, but they were all swatted away by Bella Zanotelli, Cheyenne Mountain’s freshman keeper.
Weiner even had a penalty kick opportunity early in the second half, but the shot sailed well above the crossbar. It was a night where things just weren’t going Evergreen’s way and the players know how vital it is to convert on every chance that they can get against a team like the Indians.
“I definitely think we dominated,” Weiner said. “But we didn’t capitalize on the opportunities. I had a lot of opportunities that I shouldn’t have missed.”
The scoring stream stayed with the Indians as Amanda Beach made it a 4-0 game in the 52nd minute. Beach was the usual keeper for Cheyenne Mountain, but has been moved to the field with Martinez being excited about his freshman keeper.
He was more excited that his team was able to come away with a win over a top-10 team even if they were short-handed.
“I think the score was extremely deceiving,” he said. “I think more than anything it was a good test of character for our girls to fight while missing some people.”
Weiner finally broke through for the Cougars in the 65th minute, ending Zanotelli’s bid for a shut-out.
But that didn’t change the fact that the freshman stood out while guarding the net.
“I think (she succeeds) with her confidence,” Martinez said. “She’s very confident about everything. She thinks she’s great so then she portrays that when she plays.”
Martinez’s hope is that her confidence will only grow as the Indians are able to take next week off and get healthy.
Cheyenne Mountain’s first game back from break will be against No. 8 The Classical Academy. If they’re healthy by then, that game will be a good indication of what this Cheyenne Mountain squad will be capable of in 2017.