LAKEWOOD — The Chatfield girls soccer team has been pining for a signature victory.
Bear Creek, on the other hand, is a talented bunch that has cruised through the regular season, yet remains a young and relatively inexperienced squad.
That combination proved disastrous for the Bears on Wednesday as Chatfield outworked Bear Creek, the eighth-ranked team in Class 5A, for a 2-1 victory in a 5A Jeffco League match at Lakewood Memorial Stadium.
Kaitlyn Bassett and Amanda Horvath scored the goals for Chatfield off long free kicks from senior defender Kate Kurtenbach. The Chargers’ victory ended Bear Creek’s seven-game winning streak and removed some of the luster from the Bears’ Jeffco League showdown against No. 4 Dakota Ridge on Friday.
“I feel like we have been off and on, and kind of up and down, a lot this season,” Chatfield coach Brock Blume said. “We were up for this one. It always is hard to be on top, like Bear Creek is now, and have everyone shooting for you. We’ve played that role before, and now it is fun to play the spoiler.
“There has not been a game this season where we felt like we weren’t in it. It has been an issue for us putting together the right kind of play at the right time.”
Chatfield (6-4-2, 4-3) entered the match with an 0-3-1 mark against top 10 teams from Class 5A and 4A, yet the Chargers were able to end that frustration behind a rugged all-around effort and the pinpoint service passes of Kurtenbach.
Kurtenbach launched her first strike in the 15th minute from just beyond midfield, finding Bassett streaking through the Bears’ defense for her team-leading 10th goal of the season.
The Chargers retained their 1-0 lead at halftime but Bear Creek (11-2, 5-1) evened the score on a goal by Geneva Gray with about 25 minutes remaining. Horvath, though, got her head on another Kurtenbach service about four minutes later, beating Bear Creek goalie Madison Halbach for the winning tally.
“We train for those (free kicks) after practice, and (Kurtenbach) has been really training on those,” Bassett said. “She has had others that we haven’t been able to get our heads on. I feel like all of us were so intense and so headstrong in the game, we finally put the balls in the net on her crosses.”
Chatfield 1 1 — 2
Bear Creek 0 1 — 1
Goals: C, Bassett (Kurtenbach), 15th minute; BC, Gray (Perri), 55th minute; C, Horvath (Kurtenbach), 59th minute. Shots on goal: C, 5-2—7; BC, 1-3—4. Saves: C (Schnetzler 3); BC (Halbach 5). Corner kicks: C, 2-0—2; BC, 3-0—3. Fouls: C, 5-2—7; BC, 7-4—1. Yellow cards: C, O’Dell, DeNeice; BC, Macklberg.
