Aurora – Mullen’s set pieces have been set in stone this postseason.
The 2006 Class 5A finalist and preseason No. 1 did it again Wednesday night as Danielle Foxhoven headed home a free kick from Brittany Kerridge for a 1-0 victory over rival Grandview.
“I think all of our goals in the playoffs except for one have been off of set pieces,” said Foxhoven, an All-Colorado junior forward.
And so departed the second-seeded Wolves, who were outplayed throughout the first half and had trouble generating any possession in the face of the rampant Mustangs (12-5-1).
Mullen, which drew an unrealistic seventh seed, outshot its Centennial League rival 11-0 at Legacy Stadium and beat Grandview (15-2-1) for the second time this season.
The Mustangs advanced to the state semifinals and will play No. 3 Arapahoe on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s state final, which the Warriors won 1-0 in overtime.
Foxhoven’s 15th goal of the season came off a soft foul 35 yards outside the Grandview goal. Kerridge swung a ball in toward the back post for Foxhoven to slam home.
The Mustangs pressed their advantage for most of the game and came close to scoring on shots by Hannah Peterson and Shannon Kelly.
“We certainly had a lot of goal-scoring opportunities,” Mustangs coach Jay McClain said. “We just couldn’t find that one to put it away.”
Grandview might have turned the game on its head in the sixth minute had it not been for the right post. Senior midfielder Linnea Dengah collected a cross from winger Regina Thomas and fired a low shot that beat starting goalkeeper Christina Palomino but was deflected wide by the post.
“They put a lot of pressure on us and it took us a half to used to that,” Wolves coach Bruce Brown said. “We played better in the second half, but we could not get a hold of the ball and roll it around.”
Mullen 1 0 – 1
Grandview 0 0 – 0
Goal – Foxhoven (Kerridge) 16th minute.
Shots on goal – Mullen 4-7 – 11; Grandview 0-0 – 0. Saves – Mullen (Palomino 41 minutes, Tooley 39) 0-0 – 0; Grandview (Hansen) 3-7 – 10. Offsides – Mullen 0-2 – 2; Grandview 0-0 – 0. Corner kicks – Mullen 1-3 – 4; Grandview 1-1 – 2. Fouls – Mullen 6-5 – 11; Grandview 7-8 – 15. Yellow card – Spokas, G, 68th minute.
