The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate soccer team will take on the state’s top 3A team today, Thursday, May 8, in the opening round of the state playoffs.
The Lady Pirates advanced to the playoffs as the No. 32 team after defeating 2A Del Norte 5-0 on May 1 and falling to 5A Fruita Monument 10-0 on May 2.
“That was awesome to see on Sunday,” coach Trevor Gian said of the team making the playoffs.
Helping the Lady Pirates make the state bracket was the 5-0 win over the Del Norte Tigers on May 1.
Gian explained the team anticipated being able to work on some things during the game, such as finding space on the field and time on the ball, as well as moving seniors around to different positions on the field for the team’s senior night.
He added the game was “good at times” and “a bit of a fight at other times” because Del Norte was “extremely physical and came out with a lot of physicality.”
The game was 2-0 at halftime, which Gian noted “wasn’t exactly what we were looking for,” noting the team had some missed opportunities, plenty of missed shots and could have put itself in a position to really dictate the game.
“We got there in the second half,” he said. “Things sort of opened up a little bit. Again, we were able to make sure we got some players some time in different positions.”
The coach noted he has a lot of respect for Del Norte.
“They came out and fought and made some of those decisions ... a little different,” he said. “It was a good game.”
The Lady Pirates picked up three goals in the second half.
He noted that had the Lady Pirates been able to put away some of it’s quality shots, the game would have looked completely different.
Hailey Sams scored two of the team’s goals, with one each coming from Elizabeth Currier, Katelyn Fricke and Adison Johnson.
Sams also picked up an assist, as did Johnson. Caroline Simon also contributed with an assist.
The following day, the Lady Pirates lost to the Fruita Monument Wildcats, with Gian noting after the fact that the game was likely a “great precursor” for the team’s playoff game.
Gian noted the Wildcats were very good, moved the ball well, had good movement off the ball, and had crisp passes and good shots.
The coach noted the expectation was that they would be a good team.
“And they didn’t disappoint,” he said. “They were a well-coached, organized team. ... Their play through the middle was just phenomenal.”
Gian explained the Lady Pirates have been working on eliminating space on the outsides and “gettin’ behind us from the outside wings.”
“Even with doing that, which I think we did a great job on it, they just found so much success through the middle, just really quality passes, quality touches and then some ... just really amazing shots, too,” Gian said.
Gian noted it was tough going up against a team like that.
“I’m proud of how we stuck with it, how we fought through it,” he said.
He added the Lady Pirates also had some opportunities and were able to try to slow some things down by making adjustments.
The Wildcats spread their goals evenly between the halves, scoring five in the first and five in the second.
Gian added he’s “really proud of our team, how we responded facing probably one of the top-quality opponents we’ve faced this year. ... They were ready to play.”
Lady Pirate keeper Keira Davis is credited with 18 saves in the matchup.
Thursday, the team will take on No. 1 Colorado Academy at 4 p.m. on May 8 in Denver.
The Mustangs are 12-1-2 on the season.
“Definitely a tough draw there, but to get the opportunity is just gonna be fun,” the coach said.
Gian indicated he doesn’t know much about the private Denver school.
“I just imagine they’re gonna be a well-rounded team, quality players all around the field, so we’re just gonna kind of keep it light, try to have some fun,” he said, adding the team will talk about how it can settle in defensively to slow the game down and how it might be able to find “some success on the field.”
He also noted the team would talk about what it saw against Fruita Monument and anticipate something very similar.
“We’ve got nothing to lose, so we’ll leave it all out there,” Gian said.
Also advancing from the Intermountain League, No. 8 Alamosa will host No. 25 Holy Family, and No. 14 Montezuma-Cortez will host No. 19 Roaring Fork.
randi@pagosasun.com
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