Evergreen girls soccer connects on winning back-to-back 4A/3A Jeffco titles

EVERGREEN — For the second straight year Evergreen has successfully maneuvered through the tough girls soccer Class 4A/3A Jeffco League.

The Cougars clinched back-to-back conference championships with a 4-0 home victory against D’Evelyn on a damp and cool Tuesday night at Evergreen High School.

“It’s unbelievable. It is a very difficult league. You need to get your games right,” Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said. “We had one little trip up for sure where I don’t think we played a great game. The girls got the rest of the games done. My hat off to my girls.”

The lone conference blemish for the Cougars (9-1-3, 8-0-1 in league) has been a scoreless tie against Standley Lake back on April 7 at the North Area Athletic Complex. Since that tie, Evergreen has gone on a 5-game winning streak.

“There are definitely some great teams,” Evergreen senior Gianna Weiner said of the 4A/3A Jeffco League. “There are some great competitors.”

Evergreen, Green Mountain, Golden, Standley Lake, Dakota Ridge, Wheat Ridge and D’Evelyn should all make the 32-team 4A state tournament that begins next week.

Evergreen wraps up its regular season on the road against rival Conifer tomorrow (Tuesday, April 28). The Cougars have one final postseason tune-up Friday, May 1, at home against Air Academy.

“It’s a great test,” Jeans said of hosting Air Academy. “Love to conclude the regular season with that game.”

The Kadets (9-2-1, 3-0-1 in 4A Pikes Peak League) is currently No. 7 in the 4A girls soccer CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. Evergreen is No. 5.

It did take awhile for the Cougars to get on the scoreboard against D’Evelyn (5-6-3, 4-4-1). Evergreen scored in the final minutes of the first half on some perfect passing that ended with Weiner finding the back of the net in the 38th minute.

“I was definitely a little frustrated because I know what we are capable of,” Weiner said of D’Evelyn and Evergreen locked in a scoreless game for the majority of the first half. “Elle (Elle Buenning) played a great ball up to Cam (Cameron Wedding). She (Wedding) played an amazing ball across.”

Buenning led Wedding on a forward ball that the senior was run up to and fire a crossing pass to the streaking Weiner near the far post.

“It was a little frustrating at first,” Wedding said of the Cougars’ final home league game. “I really like getting a head start on people and beating people with my feet. Everything just clicked.”

Everything clicked for Wedding after the Cougars’ first goal. Wedding assisted on Evergreen’s second goal, a rocket of a shot from senior Nadia Leunig in the 50th minute. Wedding dropped the ball off to Leunig who had been marked tightly by the Jaguars in the first half.

“She is capable of a lot,” Wedding said of Leunig. “She just fired away.”

Wedding put the final two Cougar goals in herself with back-to-back goals a minute apart. Weiner made a long feed to Wedding that she buried into the back of the net in the 59th minute. Leunig set Wedding up for her second goal of the night in the 60th minute to give Evergreen a 4-0 lead.

Wedding contributed on all four of the Cougars goal with 2 goals and 2 assists.

“We talked before the game that the field was going to play very fast,” Jeans said of the wet artificial turf. “You had to connect passes feet-to-feet and it was better if the ball never left the ground because the turf was so fast.”

Evergreen will attempt to bring home an unprecedented third straight 4A state title. The only program to win three straight 4A girls soccer state titles is Cheyenne Mountain (2013, 2014 and 2015).

“We are about to enter that time of year where if you don’t play well, you don’t win,” Jeans said of the postseason starting next week. “If you don’t win you don’t continue to play.”