COLORADO SPRINGS – After a less-than-inspiring second half in which it gave up the game tying goal to Pueblo South, the Mesa Ridge girls soccer team was hanging its head.
Auwea Acfalle wasn’t having any of it. Heading into the first overtime, she took a vocal approach to remind her team that this game wasn’t over, and the Grizzlies were capable of beating the Colts.
The message got received. Mesa Ridge dominated for the first 10 minutes and although they didn’t net a goal, they had a clear edge in momentum. Then Acfalle buried a shot early in the second overtime to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 win.
“We had our head down because (South) had momentum from scoring a goal and tying the game,” Acfalle said. “I just reassured everyone that we had to keep our heads up and that it was a 0-0 game.”
Considering what the Grizzlies (3-2 overall) have done offensively of late, it was a little surprising that the offense came out a bit stagnant after Beatriz Jara got them on the board in the 10th minute of the game.
With the seasonably appropriate winds pushing their way north, Mesa Ridge had the advantage for the first 40 minutes of play. Jara’s easy score made it feel like getting more than one in the first half was a foregone conclusion.
“We were banking on more than one,” Jara said. “But we still kept on pushing.”
But the possessions got logjammed at midfield toward the later end of the first half and for much of the second. What didn’t help things was South’s Madi Reardon getting several looks to tie the game. The Grizzlies were either able to disrupt her just enough or her open shots sailed wide of the net.
“We knew about her coming into the game,” coach Brian Roberds said. “That was our focus. We had to prevent her from beating us.”
It was Madison Bussey’s well-placed shot that pulled the Colts (0-5) even with the Grizzlies and changing the entire mood of the game.
Mesa Ridge picked up some steam late in regulation, but couldn’t get a solid shot on the net to try and pull ahead before time ran out.
After putting up six goals against Pueblo Central, scoring two against South felt a little disappointing, but that’s when Acfalle decided that the team needed to stop feeling sorry for itself.
“She gave us a motivational speech there,” Roberds said. “She told everyone to get their heads up and play like we’re supposed to play.”
The result was everyone celebrating around her after she scored the golden goal to win the game. The two other wins that the Grizzlies have this year have come in healthy margins so it can be a huge mental boost to have to battle for a victory after giving up a lead.
“It pulls us together as a team,” Acfalle said. “It shows how much heart we have to not keeps our heads down and pull through in the end.”
