Greenwood Village – Things started off downhill for Cherry Creek on Wednesday afternoon – and that was a good sign.
The Bruins had the sloping field at Village Green Park on their side in the first half against Palmer and attacked the Terrors in waves. A goal eight minutes before halftime and another just after the break was enough for a 2-1 Class 5A nonleague victory in the opening round of the annual Warrior Kickoff Classic.
The fifth-ranked Bruins (2-1) outshot their Colorado Springs visitors 6-0 in the first half and forced six corner kicks, but only had Koji Goldman’s goal in the 32nd minute to show for it.
“If we put away chances, it could have been a 5-0 game,” Cherry Creek striker George Carmichael said.
Carmichael scored the game-winner two minutes into the second half when he chased down a pass from freshman John Lacouture and rifled a shot past Palmer goalie Max Krakauer.
Krakauer, a sophomore, made six saves.
“It wasn’t a bad effort,” Cherry Creek coach Chelo Curi said. “A couple more finishes – their keeper played great – and it could have been a lot more different for us. Give them credit. They worked really hard.”
Palmer (0-3) came to life in the final 15 minutes, but had to wait until the 79th minute for Tyson O’Neil’s goal. The Terrors used the downhill side and an increasing possession game to put the Bruins on their heels.
“That’s kind of the story of our season right now,” Palmer coach Lody Archuleta said. “We’re playing good halves, but we haven’t put it together for 80 minutes.”
Behind the speed and dribbling of Carmichael and Goldman, the Bruins attacked from the onset and had the Terrors under tremendous pressure.
Goldman nearly scored on a header off a corner kick by Kenji Goldman in the 24th minute and Krakauer deflected Carmichael’s breakaway wide in the 25th.
“It was like quicksand,” O’Neil said. “No matter what we did, (the Bruins) got the ball and could do what they wanted.”
The Terrors’ first shot on goal came in the 54th minute, which seemed to slowly revive them. Sean Meenan had his header pushed wide in the 62nd minute before O’Neil was denied by the right post two minutes later.
O’Neil would not be denied in the 79th minute when he pounced on a loose ball around the 6-yard box and swept a curling shot into the net.
Palmer 0 1 – 1
Cherry Creek 1 1 – 2
Goals – CC: Ko. Goldman (unassisted), 32nd minute; CC: Carmichael (Lacouture), 42nd; P: O’Neil (unassisted), 79th.
Shots on goal – Palmer 0-3 3; Cherry Creek 6-2 8. Saves – Palmer (Krakauer) 5-1 6; Cherry Creek (Hutchinson) 0-2 2.
Offsides – Palmer 0-0 0. Cherry Creek 8-1 9. Corner kicks – Palmer 0-3 3; Cherry Creek 6-6 12. Fouls – Palmer 3-2 5; Cherry Creek 5-5 10. Yellow cards – Aias, Palmer, 22nd minute; Goodman, Cherry Creek, 48th; Beasley, Palmer, 56th.
