Chatfield shuts out Bear Creek in 5A Jeffco League opener
Photo: Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Sports Information
LAKEWOOD — It took a little longer than desired for Chatfield girls soccer to hit the back of the net Tuesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field.
While the Chargers (4-3 record, 1-0 in Class 5A Jeffco League) peppered Bear Creek senior goalie Andie Wessell for the majority of the first half, Chatfield didn’t score until sophomore Kyra Kuennen deflected in a corner kick just before halftime.
“It was defintely disappointing and honestly kind of hard to watch,” Chatfield junior Ava Erickson said of the majority of the first half. “We just weren’t scoring.”
Chatfield did extend its halftime lead in impressive fashion scoring six goals over a span of 17 minutes in the second half on the way to a 7-0 victory in the conference opener for both squads.
“I think our halftime talk did quite a bit,” Erickson said of the change in the second half. “We were talking about placing and finishing. We’ve struggled with that all season. To do that was definitely nice.”
Erickson started and finished the scoring barrage. In the 50th minute, the junior perfectly executed a flick into the net off a shot from junior Jayden Heil. Erickson beat Wessell in the 67th minute to make the game a 7-0 lead for the Chargers.
Junior Hannah Anderson had a pair of goals a minute apart in the second half. Senior Emmy Kercher and freshman Tyler Sternberg both added a goal each in the win.
“The key is playing hard and getting that result in the first league game,” Chatfield coach Brock Blume said. “We’ll be back here on Friday against A-West. That will be a great battle.”
Chatfield has a busy 72 hours coming up. The Chargers are back on the pitch with a road game against No. 6 Heritage on Wednesday. Then are back at Lakewood Memorial Field for a 7 p.m. Friday night against Arvada West (6-1, 1-0) in another 5A Jeffco League match.
A-West dominated Columbine in the late game of the doubleheader Tuesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. The Wildcats took a 6-1 victory over the Rebels, who are ranked No. 3 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A girls soccer rankings.
“It’s important to start out strong,” said Erickson, who missed a few games last week with an illness. “Now it’s a competition to win that league title. It is really important to win every game.”
Bear Creek also has a heavy schedule this week. The Bears have a non-league game against Standley Lake on Wednesday at the North Area Athletic Complex, followed up by a road game in Highlands Ranch against No. 4 Valor Christian on Friday night.
