DENVER — After missing out on the chance to play at home, Doherty’s girls soccer team had to endure a long road trip to go along with a frustrating start to Tuesday’s first-round playoff game against George Washington.
The Spartans, who received the No. 17 seed in the state tournament for the second year in a row, had a pair of great opportunities ricochet off the left post in the first 20 minutes of play.
But instead of letting that frustration set in, the Spartans persevered and began to capitalize on their chances. Doherty scored three first-half goals in a span of 13 minutes, eventually rolling to a 4-1 victory over the Patriots and advancing to Friday’s second round.
“It’s amazing, but I don’t think it’d be as amazing with a different group of girls,” said Spartans sophomore Alex Lanning, who netted the game’s first goal. “I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
Next round, Doherty (8-7) will get the state’s top seed for the second year in a row and make the even longer trip north to take on Fossil Ridge. A year ago Doherty needed overtime to knock off Rock Canyon in the first round before getting shut out by top-seeded Mountain Vista, the eventual champion.
“It is a little déjà vu in terms of the seed, obviously. We’re better than a 17 seed, but we didn’t prove that with our season,” Spartans coach Eryn Gallagher said. “We blew some big games, probably four or five that were not only could-have-won but should-have-won kind of games.”
The first half Tuesday belonged to Doherty, though the score didn’t reflect that for a while. Jaylin Lobato had Patriots goalkeeper Lauren McGovern beat 10 minutes into the game but hit the post from a bad angle. Nine minutes later Lanning sent an open look off the same post.
Given another chance two minutes later, Lanning didn’t disappoint. The sophomore sent a high ball from the right side on goal, and the ball tucked under the crossbar.
“I didn’t know if it was going to go in or not,” Lanning said. “Then it did and I can’t describe the feeling.”
Gallagher wasn’t surprised to see her forward respond after missing an earlier opportunity.
“Alex Lanning is the most well-rounded kind of kid you want on your team,” she said. “She’s absolutely phenomenal technically, but she’s a better mental player than anything.”
Some nice passing from Jordin Schaller to Lanning set up the second goal with 10 minutes remaining, as Lanning sent a cross into Alii Dominguez, who punched the ball into the back of the net. Four minutes later freshman Dee Pickering made it 3-0.
George Washington (8-8), which won the Denver Prep League this spring and received a home game for the first time in nine years, struggled to recover from the opening surge.
“It took us probably about a good 17 minutes to start playing our game,” George Washington coach Narissa Stahl said. “I think a lot of that is coming into the fact that we were hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2005. The girls aren’t used to this kind of pressure.”
Megan O’Driscol made it 4-0 Doherty early in the second half. Patriots sophomore Emma Wasend ended the shutout bid in the final 30 seconds with George Washington’s only score.
It was a difficult way to end the season, but George Washington came away feeling good about the future. Stahl said the momentum carried over from the fall, when the boys’ program also won league.
“We were able to carry that into the girls’ season,” she said. “It’s nice that both the boys and girls were able to be city champions. It’s very rare to have both programs do that.”
Doherty now turns its attention to the round of 16. Having matched up with the eventual state champion in last year’s playoffs, combined with a rigorous schedule this spring, the Spartans won’t be intimidated no matter who they play.
“We’ve seen the best teams. I’m not worried about that at all,” Gallagher said. “The big thing for us is the consistency has been tough this year; if we show up like we do in our best games, we’re going to give it a heck of a fight.”
