Reese pieces together successful girls soccer title defense for Fossil Ridge

COLORADO SPRINGS – Reese Morgan looked at the clock and figured there was time for a final run.

As Becca Burke carried the ball wide, she reached the goal line and sent a cross to the back post that connected with Morgan. The ball met the senior midfielder’s knee and then the back of the net in the 95th minute as Fossil Ridge posted a 2-1 overtime win against Mountain Vista in the Class 5A girls soccer state championships on Wednesday at Weidner Field.

Morgan’s flare for the dramatic led the SaberCats (18-1-1 overall) to consecutive state titles. Her free kick in overtime secured a 2-1 win in the semifinal over Castle View on Thursday.

And with :05 on the clock against Mountain Vista (14-3-1), she again found herself in a clutch situation.

“I’m sure everyone is annoyed with me,” Morgan quipped. “Because I keep leaving it until the last minute.”

“When I saw Becca take off, I looked at the clock and there were :18 seconds left. I’m like, OK, let’s do it, let’s make one more run.”

In a matchup of the last two state title winners, where a steady rain fell throughout the match, it was the SaberCats that jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second minute when Burke settled on a cross just inside the penalty arc and lobbed a left-footed shot underneath the crossbar. It was the seventh goal of the season for the freshman forward.

Fossil Ridge controlled possession through the accurate and properly weighted passes in the attacking third from Burke, Kennedy Lindsey, Kaylee Smith and Cassie Maroni.

The Golden Eagles best chance in the first half came in the 37th minute when Olivia Rice sprawled out for a sliding save. She absorbed contact from Avery Beer who was closing in fast on a stretch pass from Harper Hofmeir.

Even though the SaberCats had just one shot on goal, they carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Later, in the 54th minute, Mountain Vista’s Emersyn Linder started to serve in-swingers into the box as the Golden Eagles’ direct play attempted to tie the match via a crossing header.

Emi Marlow’s header ricocheted off the crossbar, and Linder’s header was slapped away by Rice, but led to a handball inside the six-yard box.

Mountain Vista was slicing through the SaberCats defensive midfield with slick footwork, and it finally cracked the Fossil Ridge backline when Linder buried the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 56th minute.

“We were not the better side in a lot of facets of the game tonight,” Fossil Ridge coach Cyrus Salehi said. “But our grit and resiliency paid off. We just don’t quit. When they scored I wasn’t worried and it wasn’t because I thought we were going to win. I knew what these girls had been tested on.”

After Mountain Vista controlled the pace of play throughout much of the second half, Fossil Ridge went hunting for the match-winner. It had a half-chance, on a corner in the 73rd minute when Mia Lorenzen connected with a soaring Kylie Kephart, but her header was off target and went out of bounds.

Burke said despite being on their heels throughout much of the second half, the team never lost its resolve or commitment to the game plan.

“I thought our team did a great job of staying together,” Burke said. “They had the momentum there. But we did a great job of coming back and grabbing it.”

On a soaring deflection, Beer’s shot forced Rice into a diving punch save in the 87th minute. Moments later, Mountain Vista goalie Molly Gaffney sprinted to the edge of the box for a clearance.

But it was Morgan who would have another turn for the dramatic, which didn’t surprise Salehi.

“We just don’t quit,” Salehi said. “That last goal was built in the last 14 seconds. We just don’t care. We won the ball, took it into the corner, sent it and that grit was there.”

As Salehi gathered to thank the waterlogged fans that sat through almost 95 minutes of soccer, he started a chant: “back-to-back-to-back.”

The grit is there, but the trophy just might have to get used to Fort Collins if the third-year coach has his way.