No. 8 Columbine girls soccer gets back on track
Photo: Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Sports Information
LAKEWOOD — Columbine girls soccer team got back in the win column Tuesday night.
The Rebels — No. 8 in the CHSAANow.com rankings — had suffered losses to Arvada West and Ralston Valley last week to start 5A Jeffco League play.
“We are just trying to find a rhythm more or less, get our heads back up,” said Columbine coach Paul Moline, who didn’t coach the Rebels in the loss to A-West due an illness. “It was a tough week.”
Columbine got heathy with a 7-0 victory over Pomona on Tuesday at Lakewood Memorial Field.
“We just wanted to get it back,” Columbine senior Sydney Somers said of the Rebels’ mindset facing Pomona (2-9, 0-3 in 5A Jeffco League) on a 2-game losing streak. “We wanted to score as many goals as would could. Play our hardest and get ready for a tough week next week.”
Columbine got first-half goals by seniors Vanessa Diaz, Sabrina Phu, along with sophomores Maddie Gottschling and Maddie Wallner to take a 4-0 lead at halftime.
“Was it everything we wanted out of this game? No,” Moline said of the lull after Diaz’s goal in the 4th minute.
The Rebels (7-2, 1-2) controlled possession for the majority of the first half, but had issues finding the back of the net. However, Columbine put a trio of goals past Pomona junior goalie Kendra Ritzmann in the final four minutes of the opening half.
The second half was all Rebels. Columbine goaltending tandem of freshman Ella Rieben and junior Chloe Watson combining for the shutout victory. Wallner put in her second goal in the 54th minute. Somers scored a pair of goals putting the ball into the back of the net in the 67th and 76th minutes to close out the scoring.
Columbine faces Lakewood (5-5, 1-1) back at Lakewood Memorial Field at 5 p.m. Friday, April 21.
The Rebels have a challenging week coming up facing league-leading and rival Chatfield (6-4, 3-0) on Tuesday, April 25, at Lakewood Memorial Field. Columbine then heads to Highlands Ranch on Thursday, April 27, to square off against No. 4 Valor Christian.
“We have not had our full team in a game yet this season,” Moline said of his line-up. “It is going OK. It is that late season time where the question is … What direction are we going to go?”
