Two second half goals lift No. 1 Colorado Academy field hockey over No. 3 Kent Denver
DENVER — In a tough, Saturday morning battle, Colorado Academy once again found a way to pull out a close win over another highly ranked opponent. The Mustangs improved to 49-game winning steak with their 2-0 victory over Kent Denver.
The two teams seem evenly matched as both rank in the top three of the CHSAANow.com field hockey poll. The No. 3 Sun Devils (2-3-3 overall, 1-2-2 in league) dominated throughout the whole game but couldn’t turn anything into goals.
The top-ranked Mustangs (8-0, 5-0) were able to find a way to score two goals in the second half within a four-minute span, helping them remain unbeaten on the season.
It was senior captain Maddie Webster who scored the first goal of the game to give the Mustangs a much-needed lead.
“I think we played really well considering we changed a lot things in the last practice after we played them last Friday,” Webster said. “We adjusted really well on to how Kent plays.”
After the first half the Mustangs looked to try and gain some type of momentum. The Sun Devils continued to control the ball for most of the second half, but still couldn’t score. Kent Denver looked like they were on the verge of scoring as they had more opportunities and shot attempts than Colorado Academy.
“We dominated until 25 minutes into the second half. I think we just had a 2 minute lull and it just so happened Colorado Academy was able to capitalize on that,” said Sun Devils coach Kathy James.
Shortly after the first goal, junior captain Nellie Turnage scored with an impressive shot down the middle giving the Mustangs 2-0 lead. Kent Denver immediately picked up intensity after the score and continued to control the game.
“I think the girls did a really good job after our timeout. Coming back out we reevaluated and were able to come out strong. It’s just unfortunate we weren’t able to get anything in the net,” said James.
Colorado Academy goalkeeper Bridget Sutter was a big factor in preventing Kent Denver from scoring. Sutter was kept busy mostly in the first half blocking numerous shots.
“They had so many opportunities to score and thanks to Bridget and the defense we narrowly avoided that,” she said.
With the win, the Mustangs have now rattled off 49 consecutive victories. Colorado Academy coach Veronica Scott doesn’t let the huge milestone affect her teams’ mentality.
“Every game is so different and we have to play every game. At the end of the day you need to what you need to do to get to the playoffs and then that’s when it all counts,” said Scott. “The fact that we have a winning streak is lovely but it doesn’t give us anything extra.
