COLORADO SPRINGS – For 72 minutes on Wednesday night, it seemed like conquering Pikes Peak was an easier ask than winning the Class 5A girls soccer championship.
With America’s Mountain overlooking Weidner Field – a new home for the girls soccer state championship games – Fossil Ridge and Castle View went toe to toe with each team trying to capture its first championship for its program history.
Not even a penalty kick in 67th minute could break a nil-nil tie.
But in the end, it was a Teagan Myers header off a Lily Wale corner kick in the 72nd minute that proved the difference. Add in Shay Masters being masterful in net and it was Fossil Ridge getting the 1-nil win.
It’s a massive step forward for a program that has struggled to get through the second of the playoffs. Coach Cyrus Salehi is in his second year after coming over from Liberty Common and worked to instill culture and work ethic into a program that he felt was afraid to live up to expectations.
“We have a saying, mean no offense, take no offense,” Salehi said. “This has been a soft, sissified program for too many years. When we came in, what we said was we’re going to take the fight to a lot of players, to a lot of teams and we’re going to have grit.”
For both teams, they had chance after to chance to get on the board and give themselves and edge, but for every opportunity an offense created, there was defense and outstanding goal keeping to shut it down.
The best scoring chance for either team in the first half came in the 21st minute. Fossil Ridge’s Jordan Killion made a cross-field pass to Wale who was able to shift around the Castle View back line and fire a shot from her left foot.
The ball sailed over the crossbar, but gave the Fossil Ridge attack confidence that it could continue building its attack.
Castle View’s first corner attempt of the second half was smothered as Masters snagged the ball before anyone could get a head or foot on it for a shot attempt.
“I was kind of surprised I came down with it, I’m not going to lie,” Masters said. “I think a lot of it was instinct.”
A few minutes later, freshman Breckyn Cates forced a turnover and found Adyson Kissinger down the field who ripped a shot by Masters, but it was pushed wide of the frame.
The back and forth continued until a handball in the Castle View box gave Fossil Ridge a penalty kick in the 67th minute. Wale fired it to her right side, but Castle View keeper Elly Bowers turned the shot away and corralled the rebound. There wasn’t enough time to be distraught over the missed chance, both teams had to play on.
“That could have been our only chance there,”” Wale said. “And we’ve worked so hard to be here.”
Just a few minutes later, Wale was setting up for a corner kick and placed it beautifully in front of the net. Myers tracked it the whole way and got her head on it to break the scoreless tie.
“We usually have set plays in the corner, but on that specific one it was getting down to the wire,” Myers said. “I think [the play] was get it in and get someone on it.”
Not believing the lead was safe, the best defense Fossil Ridge could run was to pressure Castle View with an offensive push. In the closing minutes, Castle View struggled to get the ball out of the defending third of the field.
“The best teams have a defense that can play offensively and the an offense that can play defensively,” Myers said. “All of our forwards got back to help.”
Castle View couldn’t get the ball into any space to get a shot off in the closing seconds and for the first time, Fossil Ridge girls soccer felt the joy of a championship celebration. It may not have trekked up the looming tower of Pikes Peak, but the Fossil Ridge girls soccer team is certainly standing on a mountain top.
(Eric Brown/ebrownfoto.com)
