Girls Soccer: A night of upsets as all top-4 seeds fall in Class 5A state quarterfinals

LAKEWOOD — Fossil Ridge went 4-for-4 on penalty kicks Monday night at Trailblazer Stadium to advance to the Class 5A girls soccer semifinals.

The No. 5-seeded SaberCats defeated No. 4 Ralston Valley in a quarterfinal that couldn’t be settled after 110 minutes of soccer. The match was tied 1-1 through 80 minutes of regulation time and a pair of 15-minute overtime periods.

“There is always nerves, but it’s about keeping a cool mindset,” Fossil Ridge junior goalie Shay Masters said of going to penalty kicks. “You have to know at that point that your team has done so much for you. It comes down to you at the end. You make a couple of good saves it really means a lot.”

Fossil Ridge (13-1-4 record) was perfect on penalty kicks against Ralston Valley junior goalie Maddie King. Reese Morgan, Teagan Myers, Lily Wale and Bailey Pottratz all buried their PKs into the back of the next for the SaberCats to take a 4-2 victory during the shootout.

“It is amazing,” said Pottratz, who put in the game-winning penalty shot. “Our goal is obviously to win the whole thing, but one game at a time. This win was big for us, especially after last year.”

Last season, Fossil Ridge was the No. 2 seed, but was upset in the quarterfinals by No. 10 Heritage. Ralston Valley (13-3-3) advanced to the semifinals at the No. 5 seed, but lost to eventual state champion Mountain Vista 1-0 in double-overtime. 

“We really wanted this. We really hope to go all the way,” Masters said. “There is definitely a little fire under us this year.”

Fossil Ridge took a commanding 2-0 lead in the shootout with Ralston Valley’s first two shooters — Lauren Sabus and Santana Sabus — unable to convert their PKs. Lauren’s shot hit the cross bar and Santana’s shot was saved by a diving Masters.

“That gave some good confidence,” Masters said of the Mustangs hitting the cross bar on their first shot. “Then you have to guess the right way. Getting there is half the battle. Guessing the right way is half the battle.”

Fossil Ridge took the lead midway through the first half. Senior Bella Robinson made a strong run down the right side of the field and rocketed a shot the to far post that beat King in the 17th minute.

The SaberCats took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Ralston Valley was able to get the game equalizer in the final 10 minutes of regulation-time. Junior Mia Alfaro sent a perfect centering pass to sophomore Evilyn Morwood, who headed it past Masters in the 71st minute to tie the game at 1-1.

It was the third straight playoff game Fossil Ridge faced a team from the 5A Jeffco League. The SaberCats defeated No. 28 Arvada West 5-0 in the opening round and followed that up with a 2-0 win over No. 12 Columbine in the round of 16.

Fossil Ridge was able to complete the hat-trick against Jeffco teams with the victory over the 5A Jeffco League champions — Ralston Valley.

Fossil Ridge will carry a 7-game winning streak into the semifinals Thursday night at University of Denver – CIBER Field. 

#8 VALOR CHRISTIAN 1, #1 MOUNTAIN VISTA 0 (OT)

LAKEWOOD — The nightcap Monday at Trailblazer Stadium had Valor Christian stunning the top-seed and defending state champion Mountain Vista.

No. 8 Valor grabbed a 1-0 victory in overtime. The Eagles scored the lone goal just 2 minutes, 20 seconds into the first overtime period.

After a diving save by Valor senior Alexis Wood, the Eagles’ goalie punted the ball more than 50 yards down field. The ball took a big bounce where sophomore Hallie Sleesman was able to flick the ball forward with a header. 

Sophomore Riley Bogdan was able to run down the ball and beat Mountain Vista freshman goalie Molly Gaffney for the game winner.

“I knew we might not have another opportunity,” Bogdan said of her game-winning goal. “Hallie flicked it. It was a great pass. It was a perfect shot. It just happened.”

Valor’s student section stormed the field as the Eagles celebrated knocking off the defending state champions who hadn’t lost in 13 straight games heading into the quarterfinals.

“It really was just a blur,” Bogdan said. “All my mind was saying was, ‘This has to go in. This has to go in.’ That was all that was playing through my mind.”

Also going through Valor’s mind was the memory of Mountain Vista ending the Eagles’ season in the second round of the 5A state tournament a year ago.

“We lost to Vista last year in the playoffs. It wasn’t going to happen this year,” Bogdan said. “We refused to let it happen again.”

Valor (11-3-2) will face the highest remaining seed left in the state tournament in No. 5 Fossil Ridge in the state semifinals Thursday, May 13, at CIBER Field on the University of Denver campus.

The other quarterfinal games held at Englewood High School on Monday featured a pair of upsets. No. 6 Castle View and No. 10 Broomfield won to complete the semifinal match ups.

Castle View took a 2-1 overtime victory against No. 3 Pine Creek. Broomfield upset No. 2 Cherry Creek 2-1. 

“Every team (remaining) is a great team,” Bogdan said. “But I believe we have the heart and competitiveness to win it all. I have faith in my team.”