Fort Collins – Raeleigh Withey didn’t have much to do in goal for Rocky Mountain on Tuesday against Dakota Ridge, but when called upon, the sophomore came up big.
Withey made her only save of the game, denying the Eagles’ Jenny Hutton on the goal line to preserve a scoreless tie. Alison Kenney scored the winning goal late in regulation and the 13th-seeded Lobos advanced to the second round of the Class 5A girls soccer tournament with a 1-0 victory at Fossil Ridge.
“It was kind of scary because it was right there on the goal line, and all I could do was throw my whole body forward,” Withey said. “We weren’t as hyped up for this game coming in, understanding that this is playoffs. But we got the job done.”
Rocky Mountain (9-4-3), which will play Cherry Creek in the second round, had ample opportunities to bury the Eagles (9-5-2) in the first half but continued to come up empty.
Senior Jessica Smith brought Dakota Ridge goalie Aly Wilds 15 yards out, got by her, then missed an empty net wide right.
Kenney, a junior, finally scored the Lobos’ winning goal in the 70th minute. Kenney again drew Wilds out. But after making the initial save, Wilds couldn’t control the rebound and Kenney finished with ease.
“We know that we can’t let down against any team in this tournament, and that every team is going to be amazing,” Kenney said. “It’s good to keep all the fluky stuff out of the way.”
Dakota Ridge 0 0 – 0
Rocky Mountain 0 1 – 1
Goal – Kenney (unassisted), 70th minute.
Shots on goal – Dakota Ridge 0-1 – 1; Rocky Mountain 4-6 – 10. Saves – Dakota Ridge (Wilds) 4-5 – 9; Rocky Mountain (Withey) 0-1 – 1. Corner kicks – Dakota Ridge 0-3 – 3; Rocky Mountain 4-4 – 8. Offsides – Dakota Ridge 0-1 – 1; Rocky Mountain 1-2 – 3.
Fouls – Dakota Ridge 3-4 – 7; Rocky Mountain 1-5 – 6. Yellow cards – None.
FORT COLLINS 3, LITTLETON 2
The Lambkins completed the Choice City sweep with a victory over a gallant Littleton squad that came in with a losing record. In the process, the Lambkins gave coach Jason Odorizzi his second gift of the day.
The Fort Collins coach was not in attendance after the birth of his daugther, McKenna, on Tuesday morning.
“I’m sure he appreciates our hard work when he can’t be here,” said junior Krystine Dalton, who scored both of Fort Collins’ second-half goals. “Family obviously comes first and it is just nice to be able to support him when he’s not here.”
Fort Collins (12-3-1) snapped a three-game losing streak and will travel to Air Academy for the second round.
Littleton (5-8-3) tied the game 1-1 early in the second half on a 25-yard free kick from Masa Vajzovic. But Dalton gave the Lambkins the lead back, and for good, nine minutes later.
“I think we rattled them a little bit,” Littleton coach Terry Banfield said. “(Dalton) really stepped up nicely on the outside for them and made some plays that really stepped up their game.”
Littleton 0 2 – 2
Fort Collins 1 2 – 3
Goals – FC: Bello (unassisted), 37th minute; L: Vajzovic (unassisted), 44th; FC: Dalton (Barstow), 53rd; Dalton (Sankey), 73rd; L: Hanson (Darling), 74th.
Shots on goal – Littleton 2-3 – 5; Fort Collins 4-5 – 9. Saves – Littleton (Gates) 3-3 – 6; Fort Collins (Burger, 40 minutes) 2-0 – 2, (Connor, 40 mins.) 0-1 – 1. Corner kicks – Littleton 1-1 – 2; Fort Collins 2-1 – 3. Offsides – Littleton 0-0 – 0; Fort Collins 0-1 – 1. Fouls – Littleton 5-6 – 11; Fort Collins 5-7 – 12. Yellow cards – None.
FOSSIL RIDGE 8, GLENWOOD SPRINGS 0
For a team making its playoff debut, Fossil Ridge had quite an entrance.
Freshman Alli Morgan-Mauro scored three goals for the ninth- seeded SaberCats (11-4-1) in a rout of Glenwood Springs (10-5-1) in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.
“We had trouble with coming together early on in the season,” Morgan-Mauro said. “But once the chemistry started clicking, it has been pretty amazing.”
Fossil Ridge received all the offense it would need just 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Morgan- Mauro blasted a shot from the top of the box that beat Demons goalkeeper Anna Kulwiec high to the far post.
Kayla Ham and Kelly Chambers each scored two goals for the SaberCats, who have a rematch with Broomfield in the second round. Fossil Ridge defeated the Eagles earlier in the season.
Glenwood Springs 0 0 – 0
Fossil Ridge 4 4 – 8
Goals – Morgan-Mauro (unassisted), 3rd minute; Ham (unassisted), 25th; Morgan-Mauro (Kissler), 33rd; Chambers (Morgan-Mauro), 39th; Ham (unassisted), 59th; Morgan-Mauro (unassisted), 65th; Chambers (Guzzardo), 66th; Hess (Fowler), 76th.
Shots on goal – Glenwood Springs 0-1 – 1; Fossil Ridge 9-10 – 19. Saves – Glenwood Springs (Kulwiec, 40 minutes) 5-0 – 5, (Hert, 40 mins.) 0-6 – 6; Fossil Ridge (Brien) 0-1 – 1. Corner kicks – Glenwood Springs 0-0 – 0; Fossil Ridge 3-4 – 7. Offsides – Glenwood Springs 0-0 – 0; Fossil Ridge 2-7 – 9. Fouls – Glenwood Springs 2-3 – 5; Fossil Ridge 2-6 – 8. Yellow cards – None.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
