(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — For 40 minutes, it looked like the Cheyenne Mountain girls soccer team had figured out how to snap its losing streak. But then Pine Creek came alive and showed why they are one of the top teams in the state.
The result was a 4-2 win for the Eagles, ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, and a third-straight loss for the Indians, who are No. 9 in 4A.
“We did some good things and Pine Creek is a phenomenal team,” Cheyenne Mountain coach Tomas Martinez said. “We’ll take some good things out of it. I don’t think we’ll see another team this good.”
The first 16 minutes of the game started at a fairly calm pace with both sides not seeing many scoring opportunities. But in the 17th minute, Indians (2-5 overall) forward Lauren Jones was able to shake a defender while moving down the left side of the field. She fired a shot from 15 yards out that got by Eagles keeper Jade Odom to give Cheyenne Mountain a 1-0 lead.
Pine Creek (5-2) continued to struggle to create scoring chances for the next 10 minutes, but seemed to catch a break as Jayne Lydiatt was tripped up in the goal box, giving the Eagles a penalty kick. Lydiatt aimed for the left side of the goal, but her shot was stopped cold by Indians keeper Stephanie Deines.
“It was rough, (Deines) made a really good save,” Lydiatt said. “I couldn’t let it discourage me and let it discourage my team.”
But less than two minutes later Ryanne Parker accepted a pass deep in the Cheyenne Mountain zone and took advantage of a clean look at the goal. She was able to beat Deines to put the Eagles on the board and tie the game at a goal apiece.
Cheyenne Mountain’s Sarah Thilenius (17) tries to get by two Pine Creek defenders during Thursday’s game. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Apparently the idea of a tie game didn’t sit well with Jones. Less than two minutes after Pine Creek got on the board, she regained the lead for her team, beating Odom for the second time.
The Indians took the 2-1 lead into halftime, much to the delight of the home crowd. On the opposite sideline, Eagles coach John Frederick knew the game was far from over.
Pine Creek had been playing into strong winds for the first half and knew that the final 40 minutes would be more friendly. In fact, he even ventured a guess as to how many goals his team would score before the night was over.
“I told the players we were going to score three that half,” Frederick said.
In the 57th minute, it was Lydiatt who would get the first of those three as she lifted a shot over the head of Deines. After missing the penalty kick earlier, it she was able to relax after finding the back of the net to tie the game at two.
“When I got it I thought it made up for my missed PK,” she said.
But it was important for the Eagles to keep the momentum. Two minutes later, Parker added her second goal of the night to give Pine Creek a 3-2 lead.
Madeline Alhamra added another in the 63rd minute to bring the score to 4-2 in Pine Creek’s favor.
“I’m happy we were able to pull out the win tonight,” Lydiatt said. “We still have stuff to work on but from this game we learned a lot which brings us a step closer to our goals.”
For Martinez and the Indians, the loss &mdash while not ideal — will serve them better in the long run. Martinez consistently creates tough non-league schedules in order to have his team prepared when faced with an important matchup.
“That’s what I tell my team ‘just win league,'” he said. “I can guarantee you two weeks from now we will not be the team we are today. We’re going to continue to improve.”