LAKEWOOD — Columbine’s girls soccer team had already wrapped up its fifth straight Class 5A Jeffco League title.
“You want to win your Jeffco League games. You want to dominate your league,” Columbine coach Brian Todd said. “We have had a lot of success in Jeffco over the last couple of years. It means a lot.”
However, there was still a little business to take care of Friday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. The Rebels, ranked No. 5 in the latest CHSAANow.com 5A girls soccer poll, wanted to finish off a second straight year with a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play. They could do that with a win over rival Chatfield.
Columbine senior Skylar Alward (14) is shadowed by Chatfield junior Rylee Mullen (18) during the first half Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Columbine (11-2, 7-0 in 5A Jeffco) accomplished its mission in dramatic fashion with a 1-0 double-overtime victory against the Chargers.
Sophomore Peyton Weber put in the game-winning goal in the 98th minute for the Rebels. Weber made a run down the left side of the field and fired a shot to the far post with her left foot. The shot got past the dive of Chatfield sophomore goalie Abby Wilkinson and the Rebels’ celebration began.
“I just went for it and knew I couldn’t miss it,” said Weber, who added she was aiming for the far post on the game-winning shot. “I saw my chance and took it.”
The goal came seconds after Chatfield at first appearance to score a game-winning goal of its own, but the goal was waved off because of an offside call.
“We played well enough to win that game,” said Chatfield coach Brock Blume, who was trying to get the victory to help the Chargers (6-4-2, 3-2-1) with their shot at taking second in the conference and earning an automatic playoff berth. “It didn’t fall right for us. They need to feel good about the performance we had tonight.”
Chatfield senior and leading scorer Emma Peterson had a couple of great chances on long shots, but couldn’t get anything past Columbine senior goalie Madeline Samuelson. Samuelson racked up her ninth shutout victory in net this season.
Chatfield senior Zoe Roberts, far right, goes up for a header as teammate Sina George collides with Columbine junior Tessa Barton (2). (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Columbine finished league play outscoring its opponents 24-1. In fact, the Rebels have only allowed five goals all season.
“I can’t express how big this win is for us,” Samuelson said. “Being a senior and being a captain I really see how important it is to come out and get your teammates pumped even when they are tired. We got through it and I can’t believe we came out with a win.”
Todd did give a lot of credit to Chatfield having given the Rebels their biggest test in league this season.
“Chatfield really did great on winning balls and taking away space. They worked really hard defensively,” Todd said. “I commend Brock. He is a great coach.”
Chatfield has been a bit of a thorn in Columbine’s side during the Rebels’ run of five straight conference titles. The Chargers put the lone league blemish on the Rebels in 2016 with a 0-0 tie. The last time Columbine lost a conference game was against the Chargers back on May 1, 2015.
The Rebels can know turn their attention to a pair of non-league games against Liberty and No. 1 Grandview next week before the journey into the postseason begins.
The Chargers have one final league game against Arvada West on Monday, April 30, before non-league games against Horizon and Pine Creek next week. Chatfield sat No. 27 in the RPI ranking coming into Friday’s game, so next week will be critical for the Chargers to get some victories to assure a spot in the 32-team 5A state tournament field.
Ralston Valley (7-6, 5-2) will grab the second automatic playoff bid from Jeffco thanks to a head-to-head victory over A-West (8-3, 4-2). Columbine being the conference champion takes the other automatic spot for the postseason.
Columbine senior Jordan Offerdahl (11) and Chatfield senior Katie Bierzychedek chase after a loose ball as the sun sets at Lakewood Memorial Field on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)