HIGHLANDS RANCH — Aspen Robinson scored two goals to lead No. 3 ThunderRidge past No. 19 Legacy 4-1 on Friday in the second round of the Class 5A girls soccer tournament, advancing the Grizzlies to the quarterfinals.
ThunderRidge (15-1), which won its opening-round game 9-0 over Prairie View, dominated the game against Legacy (9-4-3) from the start. Senior midfielder Kayla Hill, who leads the state with 18 assists, scored her 14th goal of the season just 10 minutes in for the first tally of the game.
Robinson made it 2-0 in the 15th minute off a sharp pass from Janessa Fowler. The senior then put ThunderRidge up 3-0 a few minutes later, her team-leading 15th goal of the season.
PHOTOS:
Legacy, which upset No. 14 Denver East 2-1 in the first round, was outmatched, failing to tally a single shot on goal in the first half.
“At halftime, we changed the mentality of the team. We tried to tap into their psyches a little bit,” Legacy coach Luke Meadows said.
The Lightning started the second half with energy and scored on Abby Deakin’s goal to make it 3-1. But Legacy was not able to get any closer.
“It was a very one-sided game, unfortunately,” Meadows said. “Even the second half of the game was still one-sided.”
Even without Sabrina Macias, TopDrawerSoccer’s top-ranked goalie in the nation’s Class of 2015, ThunderRidge was able to keep control with its superb and efficient offense.
Freshman standout defender Shae Holmes scored the fourth and final goal for the Grizzlies.
ThunderRidge will play No. 11 Cherry Creek, a 2-1 winner Friday over No. 6 Cherokee Trail, on Wednesday at Shea Stadium.
Morgan Dzakowic: 303-954-1275, mdzakowic@denverpost.com or
