Highlands Ranch – In grand fashion, the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles field hockey team is shaking up the status quo.
During the decade of the sport’s sanctioned existence in Colorado, four teams – Kent Denver, Cherry Creek, Colorado Academy and Smoky Hill – have dominated the prep field hockey scene.
Those schools might have to make room for the Golden Eagles, who beat one of those elite teams this season, not once but twice.
“I think we are a good match for any of the teams we could face,” said Britney Ryan, the state’s leading goal scorer. “Getting to the playoffs again and winning some games this time would let people know that Mountain Vista is a real team, a threat, not just a team that was thrown together.”
For years, the state title game, and the late playoff rounds in general, have been all too familiar.
Kent Denver has won seven of the past 10 state championships, including the past four, and is the reigning and undisputed powerhouse program. Colorado Academy won the first title in 1997 and has finished as state runner-up the past three seasons.
Cherry Creek, state champion in 2002, and Smoky Hill (1999) also are regulars in the state semifinals and finals.
The Mountain Vista program, in its fifth year and playing its fourth varsity season, tallied an 0-13 record against the Big Four during the three seasons from 2004-2006. The Golden Eagles were outscored 56-2 in those games.
That all changed this season as the Golden Eagles pulled out two one-goal victories against the mighty Bruins of Cherry Creek. With an 8-1 record and the postseason three weeks away, Mountain Vista wants to make history by becoming the first team outside the Big Four to reach the state championship game.
“I had confidence in the team going into that second game because it meant a lot to us to beat them,” said Jess Webb, who delivered the game-winning goal in the second victory over Cherry Creek, a 2-1 final.
Mountain Vista coach Brian Nutter worked hard and smart to help build the burgeoning program.
It helps that Nutter is married to Kathy James, the coach at Kent Denver and one of the most respected field hockey figures in the state. Also, the prep coaches are a close-knit group, helping one another organize clinics and camps and always willing to offer tips even for opposing players.
Nutter’s first varsity team in 2004 looked like a first-year group and finished with a 2-9-3 record. There was improvement the next season as the Golden Eagles went 4-9-1. Consistent success surfaced in 2006, when the team went 8-7-1 and qualified for the state playoffs for the first time.
“Last year was a momentum changer,” Nutter said. “The girls really overcame some obstacles to get us into the playoffs for the first time. … This season, we feel like we can compete with those top four teams. They’ve kind of had a patent on the playoffs.”
Nutter credits the program’s success first to the overall athletic talent in the Douglas County and nearby. A co-op program, Mountain Vista can draw from various area schools, including Highlands Ranch, ThunderRidge, Arapahoe and Heritage.
Nutter started out teaching the basics, helping his inexperienced players learn the ropes.
Along the way, more skilled athletes joined the team and interest among the girls grew. Support from parents and the community followed, and well-qualified assistant coaches joined the ranks.
This year, the offense is led by Ryan and Webb and has proved it can score against almost anybody. The defense, with Kate Spring and Jess Webb’s twin sister, Sarah Webb, has greatly improved, making life easier for goalkeeper Laura Buehner.
Every coach, however, has limitations.
Last season, Nutter struggled while trying to impart some of the basics of the game to his still-young team. No matter which coaching approach he took, the Golden Eagles could not grasp the fundamentals of the basic drive, a hit in which the player takes a hard stroke at the ball with both hands together at the top of the stick.
“I had the darndest time trying to teach the girls that. I don’t know why that was,” Nutter said.
So Maaike Bergerdijk, an exchange student from Holland who is no longer with the team, stepped in. An accomplished player overseas, Bergerdijk simply demonstrated the technique, allowing the younger girls to observe and learn.
“I just told them to watch her, and it was like a light bulb went off,” Nutter said. “Seeing other people play, especially the top athletes, makes a huge difference.”
Mountain Vista plays Kent Denver, the one team to beat the Golden Eagles so far, in the final game of the regular season. The game is marked on the calendar.
