Chaparral knocks off Lewis-Palmer

    MONUMENT - No. 10 seed Lewis Palmer couldn't find the back of the net as it lost 2-0 to No. 23 Chaparral in the first round of the 5A state girls soccer playoffs.

    The Wolverines controlled the play for most of the game and looked more like the No. 10 seed instead of the No. 23.

    "This is a huge win for the players," said Wolverines coach Jim Hall. "These girls have a strong belief in themselves and our overall record didn't match how good of a team we are."

    Chaparral (9-6) broke the scoreless tie 10 minutes into the second half when Meaghan McArthur scored off of a pass from a free kick near the Lewis Palmer penalty box.

    "I tried to get the shot up and I was afraid it was too high," said McArthur. "But we stuck to our game plan and it led to some goals for us."

    Lewis Palmer (11-3-2) seemed somewhat stunned by the first goal and didn't recover before Chaparral scored 10 minutes later.

    "We are a very young team and I think we lost our composure a little bit," said Lewis Palmer coach Reid Wiecks. "We had many chances in the second half but we might've pushed too hard and missed some great scoring chances."

    Mikell Taufmann scored the second Chaparral goal off a nice crossing pass from Hanna Kiebel. The shot went high and off the crossbar before falling behind Lewis Palmer goalkeeper Sarah Miller, giving Chaparral a 2-0 lead and some breathing room.

    "We wanted to attack the whole match and we did that tonight," said Hall. "We have confidence in our backs on defense so we were able to push up the field and get another goal."

    The first half played out as a battle for field position with the teams taking turns making runs for balls and trying to find open space to operate in.

    The game was very physical on both sides; with each team getting good scoring chances, but Chaparral's execution and Lewis Palmer's lack of converting was the difference.

    "Chaparral is a very good team from the toughest conference in the state," Wiecks said of the Continental League. "They took advantage of their chances and we didn't."

    While the Wolverines advance to the second round, Lewis Palmer's season ends in a first-round loss for the second consecutive year.

    "I'm proud of these girls," said Wiecks. "They never gave up in this game and they played very hard."

    Lewis-Palmer's loss leaves Colorado Spirngs Metro champion Air Academy, the No. 8 seed, as the only area team alive in the 5A state playoffs.

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