Palmer goalie Caleb Espinoza. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
MONUMENT — Caleb Espinoza might quietly be the best offensive weapon for the Palmer Terrors. Espinosa guards the goal that his opponents are constantly trying to bury their shots in.
The fact that he guards it so well makes Palmer tough to beat and that was the case Wednesday night as the Terrors beat Lewis-Palmer 9-5, snapping the Rangers’ four-game winning streak.
The CHSAANow.com No 10-ranked Terrors were able to jump out to a lead early in the game because Espinosa swatted away every first quarter shot that was taken on him.
“We put the ball in his hands so to speak in regards to that,” Palmer coach Sequoia Bowan said. “We play a defense tailored to letting him see the ball and see shots and sit in and be one of the best goalies in the state.”
And that gives the Terrors (3-1 overall, 1-1 Class 5A Douglas County) a scary advantage, especially early in the game. When the Rangers (4-2, 1-1) weren’t able to connect on their early shots, they left themselves open for Palmer to jump out to a 4-1 lead at halftime.
“It keeps us hungry,” attacker Josh James said. “We know that we’re always in the game with our defense and Caleb there. They’re one one of the best (units) in the state and they help us out a lot and get us the ball so we can do our thing on the offensive end of the field.”
James led the Palmer scoring effort on the night with three goals and an assist. Carter Jensen, Ike Mahan and Isaac Waterhouse rounded out the scoring by getting two goals each.
When Espinoza is on his game, he likes to be rewarded with his offense getting down the field and putting points on the scoreboard.
“Right now, we’re playing great defensively and we know we have to be the brick wall to stop any goals from coming through,” Espinoza said. “And when our offense is putting goals in the net, that’s one of the biggest things for us.”
The Rangers had to do something to get themselves back in the game in the second half. Coach Dan Mullins admitted that his players were having a lot of issues with the Palmer zone and that they couldn’t find a way to break it early.
“We don’t run it very often,” Mullins said. “Their zone is tight and we don’t have an abundance of outside shooters. We needed to get the ball in tight to get a good shot.”
The Rangers did a much better job in the second half of getting those looks, but it just proved to be too difficult to climb all the way out of the hole they had fallen into.
Lewis-Palmer was able to close the gab to within three on three separate occasions, but Palmer always had an answer or the defense would just increase the pressure.
“I come out and I know what I have to do for this team,” Espinoza said. “I know I have to stop those balls and that’s basically what it comes down to. I know I have to do it every game and it helps the team a lot.”
Espinosa, Jensen and Isaac Atencio will play together next year when they head to Cleveland State.