No. 1 Evergreen girls soccer stays hot, shuts out Golden

ARVADA — Evergreen took another significant step toward a third straight Class 4A Jeffco League girls soccer title Tuesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.

The Cougars — No. 1 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 4A girls soccer rankings — continued their perfect run in conference play with a 2-0 victory against Golden.

“It feels amazing,” Evergreen junior Macy Kormylo said of the Cougars’ fifth straight win. “I think we just keep getting better and working as a team as the season goes on. I’m excited for more.”

Evergreen (9-1, 5-0 in 4A Jeffco) remained atop the conference with a 1-game lead over Wheat Ridge (9-2, 4-1) and D’Evelyn (5-4, 4-1) with four league games left for the Cougars.

The conference schedule has been top-heavy for Evergreen. The Cougars face Wheat Ridge (9-2, 4-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, April 22, at NAAC. The Farmers are on a 6-game winning streak.

“Friday is going to be another great rivalry game for us,” Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said of facing a Farmers squad that defeated Alameda 10-0 on Tuesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. “I bet against Wheat Ridge it’s been a 1-goal game between us for the past 10 years. We’ll go at the game and hope our best is enough.”

After Wheat Ridge, the Cougars close out league play against Conifer, Alameda International and Standley Lake — all teams with below .500 records.

“It gets a little lighter, but still for us it’s how we approach each game,” Coach Jeans said. “Each game you want to approach on getting better. Sometimes those games are trap games.”

Golden (5-4-2, 3-2) tried to capture an early lead against Evergreen. Golden senior Skye Brion’s shot in the 12th minute just skimmed off the crossbar.

The Demons hadn’t scored a goal in their pervious three games — two losses and a tie — and the scoring draught continued with Golden not getting many scoring opportunities after Brion’s near miss.

“Us seeing that close call kind of lite a fire under us,” Kormylo said of Golden almost grabbing the lead. “We really realized we needed to go after it. I think Lindsay’s goal helped us get the momentum.”

Evergreen junior Lindsay Jeans — daughter of Coach Peter Jeans — got the scoring started with a perfect corner kick that she bent into the back of the net in the 16th minute.

“The goal was huge, but she (Lindsay) sets the tone and tempo because she presses so hard against teams. They just don’t have time to play comfortably,” Coach Jeans said of Lindsay. “Then the rest of the team feeds off of that. She played a fantastic half.”

The Cougars took a 2-0 lead with a minute left in the first half. Kormylo made a great run before centering a pass to senior Rami Rapp, who flicked the ball past Golden senior goalie Ella Harrison to give the Cougars a 2-goal advantage at the half.

“Macy is quick and crafty,” Coach Jeans said. “We want her to recognize situations where she can make an impact play. Go at a player. Beat them. Hit a good service. All those things were there. It was a great goal.”

It was the third assist of the season for Kormylo and sixth goal of the season for Rami Rapp, a third of the Cougars’ triplets that have combined for 18 goals and 13 goals already this season.

“It was all effort. I had to put my all into it,” Kormylo said of her run to set up Rami Rapp for the goal.

The second half didn’t have any scoring, but it did have a significant moment. Lindsay Jeans went down with a lower body injury in the opening minute of the second half and didn’t return to the field. Lindsay has nine goals and nine assists on the season.

“I hope she (Lindsay) can be back next game,” Kormylo said. “We’ll see. She is a key player for us.”

Evergreen is attempting to win its third league title over the past four years. It could have been four in four years, but COVID cancelled the 2020 season.