Green Mountain overcomes deficit in 1st-round playoff win
LAKEWOOD — Green Mountain girls soccer’s postseason began right where its regular season started this season.
No. 11-seeded Green Mountain faced off against No. 22 Lewis-Palmer late Wednesday afternoon at Lakewood Memorial Field in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament.
The Rams and Rangers actually played in both teams’ season opener nearly two months ago, with Green Mountain taking a close 2-1 victory in double-overtime.
The result the second time around was identical, minus the overtime. Green Mountain (11-5 record) took a 2-1 win thanks to second-half goals by senior Olivia Pietro (51st minute) and sophomore Amber Calanni (71st minute) to erase a 1-0 first-half deficit.
“This was just like the other game,” Calanni said of the rematch. “We got that first goal and the momentum swung. We just possessed the rest of the game.”
Lewis-Palmer (7-7-2) got a goal late in the first half by freshman Miah Williams to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at halftime.
It took awhile for the fourth-place team in the 4A Jeffco League to get some shots on net and pressure on Lewis-Palmer goalie Katja Bierman.
“It’s a tough league playing in Jeffco, so it would have been nice to have a little easier on here. Lewis-Palmer is great,” Green Mountain coach John Barone said of the tough first-round matchup. “We were the better team in the first half, we just never finished. Once we got that first one, that’s all it took.”
After Pietro scored the game-tying goal, she assisted on the game-winning goal by Calanni with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation-time.
“When (Pietro) lofted that ball I knew I had to get the goal,” Calanni said. “I just placed it in the corner.”
Another key factor for Green Mountain was the play of Shelby Ransom. The senior controlled the midfield for the majority of the second half.
“She (Ransom) is great,” Barone said of Ransom who didn’t play in the first meeting against Lewis-Palmer. “She is amazing.”
Green Mountain moves into the second round where it faces No. 6 Mullen on the Mustangs’ home field on Saturday, May 11.
“Being able to comeback speaks a lot about our team and our character,” Ransom said. “I think we are definitely prepared because of our league. That happens every year. Jeffco is always really good. I think that helps us for playoffs.”
