BOULDER — Fairview was well aware of Smoky Hill’s streak, but the Knights figured if they could break the seal, they would be fine.
Smoky Hill hadn’t surrendered a goal in five consecutive games and entered Tuesday’s Class 5A girls soccer quarterfinals on a 10-1 tear. But less than three minutes into the contest, that streak was history.
Soon, it seemed like a distant memory as No. 2 seed Fairview launched an all-out assault en route to a 7-0 rout of the seventh-seeded Buffaloes.
“Since we scored early, that just got them down,” Fairview sophomore Nikola Machalek said. “And then we just kept scoring.”
Machalek scored the early goal on a picturesque crossing pass from University of Colorado-bound Annie Stuller. Shortly after, Stuller executed a similar cross from the right side to Cassidy Larson to make it 2-0. When defender Molly McGuigan scored on a rebound header, it was 3-0 just before halftime.
“That was exactly what we wanted to do,” said Stuller, who had three assists and a goal. “We talked about coming out strong and just keeping the pressure up.”
Fairview (16-2) outshot Smoky Hill 12-2 and had the Buffs (12-5-1) on their heels from the start. Buffs keeper Amanda Raso implored her defense to better mark Stuller, pleading, “Don’t give her space,” but to no avail.
“We didn’t come out as hard as we needed to,” the Buffs’ Anna Willis said. “But this was our best season so far.”
Paige Banks also tallied a goal for Fairview, which has surrendered only six goals all season, finding the net on a penalty kick in the waning moments. The Knights produced only one goal in a second-round win against Regis Jesuit, so the offensive outburst was encouraging entering Saturday’s semifinals.
“If we play as well as we’re capable of playing, I feel good about us,” Fairview coach Jeremy Pinard said. “But our thing is we have to show up.”
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Smoky Hill 0 0 — 0
Fairview 3 4 — 7
Goals — Machalek (Stuller), 3rd minute; Larson (Stuller), 14th; McGuigan (unassisted), 32nd; Machalak (Korba), 50th; Stuller (unassisted), 59th; Machalek (Stuller), 62nd; Banks (penalty kick), 75th. Shots on goal — Smoky Hill 1-1 — 2; Fairview 7-5 — 12. Saves — Smoky Hill (Raso) 4-1 — 5; Fairview (Thayer, DeCurnou) 1-1 — 2. Corner kicks — Smoky Hill 1-1 — 2; Fairview 4-2 — 6.
