FORT COLLINS — It was a slap in the Facebook.
Days before Saturday’s game at Fossil Ridge, the girls of Thompson Valley soccer spiced up their Facebook.com status update with, as one Fossil Ridge player spotted, their desires to kick, um, more than soccer balls.
“They wrote things like, ‘We can’t wait to go out and kick Fossil’s (expletive),’ so we’re just like, ‘We’re going to show you up,’ ” SaberCats striker Mikayla West said.
Twenty minutes into Saturday’s game, Fossil Ridge led 2-0 — thanks to two goals from West — and the home team cruised to a 5-2 victory over Thompson Valley in a second-round playoff game.
“We talked about our forwards being the key to our success, not just scoring but making the right pass, executing and putting pressure on the ball,” Fossil Ridge coach Robb Ball said. “We had some beautifully timed runs. Mikayla was on fire at the start.”
The squads had met earlier in the season, but the 1-0 game was called at halftime due to torrential rain. The SaberCats jumped to a 3-0 lead Saturday and led 5-1 by the 5:45 mark in the first half, thanks to a searing cross from Lauren Ross in the right corner, which bounced off the goalie and onto Alexa Fryer’s foot. Fryer’s goal was her second in four minutes.
Thompson Valley’s Katelyn Biedron tapped in a goal with 1:04 left in the first half, and the score at the break, 5-2, proved to be the final score, as the SaberCats systematically kept the visitors from seizing much momentum, shooing away hope with every cleared ball from a defender.
“Across the board, the defense is smart and technical. That’s what makes us good,” said Ball, who has talented freshman Taylor Nelson playing in his backfield.
But in the final minutes of the game, Fossil Ridge did suffer a setback when Britni Hensel kicked the goalie, earning her second yellow card, thus disqualifying her for Wednesday’s game against Wheat Ridge.
“She’s a key part of running people down, putting pressure on,” Ball said. “It’s a huge loss.”
Fossil Ridge 5 0 — 5
Thompson Valley 2 0 — 2
Goals: Fossil Ridge, West (Murphy), 10th minute; Fossil Ridge, West, 20th minute; Fossil Ridge, Murphy, 24th minute; Thompson Valley, N. Howard, 31st minute; Fossil Ridge, Fryer (B. Hensel), 35th minute; Fossil Ridge, Fryer (Ross), 40th minute; Thompson Valley, Biedron, 44th minute.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
