LAKEWOOD — With three games in five days, Columbine’s girls soccer team didn’t mind having a game not decided by a single goal Monday night.
The Rebels — No. 6 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 5A girls soccer rankings — cruised to an 8-1 victory over Lakewood.
“This game really helped us find our touches and work well together to get a win out of it,” Columbine senior Libby Spangler said after the biggest margin of victory for the Rebels this season with the 7-goal victory at Lakewood Memorial Field.
Columbine racked up a 7-0 lead at halftime. Peyton Weber, Riley Kaali-Nagy, Evelyn Hammer, Annabelle Young and Spangler each had a goal for the Rebels before halftime. Senior Tessa Barton tacked on a pair of goals to add to her team-leading 12 goals on the season for Columbine (6-2-1, 3-0 in 5A Jeffco League).
“We got to play some good soccer,” Columbine coach Brian Todd said after the win. “We scored some good goals and got everyone in the game. That was good.”
Columbine has been locked in close battles in almost every game this season. The Rebels have had six games decided by a goal, along with four overtime games including a tie last week against Rocky Mountain.
The Rebels’ two losses have come against No. 1 Arapahoe and No. 3 Regis Jesuit, both one-goal decisions before spring break.
“We came out and realized we are done with overtime games,” Barton said.
The road does get back on the rough path later this week. Columbine hosts No. 7 Ralston Valley (4-1-1, 1-0-1) on Wednesday, April 17, back at Lakewood Memorial Field.
“Ralston Valley is a good team every year. We always battle it out,” Todd said of the upcoming conference game at 5 p.m. Wednesday. “Most of our games over the last several years have been one-goal games. It should be a really tight match.”
The Rebels are alone atop the conference having Ralston Valley and Chatfield (6-1-1, 2-0-1) tie in their conference opener. Columbine is trying to win a sixth straight 5A Jeffco League title and have won 20 straight conference games after Monday’s win. The streak dates back to the 2016 season.
“I think it is huge,” Barton said of the upcoming games against Ralston Valley and No. 2 Grandview. “Especially with us wanting to keep our league title. Both are both awesome teams. We need to be ready for them.”
Columbine hosts Grandview — defending 5A state champions — at 4 p.m. Friday, April 19, at Columbine High School.
“We are playing a great schedule,” Todd said. “I’m proud of our girls so far through that. We’ve played some really good opponents. I think we are slowly getting to where we need to be. Wednesday and Friday will be a true test.”
Lakewood (3-7, 1-2) did prevent the shutout loss against Columbine thanks to a goal in the 68th minute by sophomore Myria Garcia. The Tigers are back on the pitch at Lakewood Memorial Field at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 18, against Chatfield.
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