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Ranum no match for Cheyenne Mountain
Cheyenne Mountain made sure that Ranum would not forget its first trip to the 4A girls soccer playoffs. Even if the visiting Raiders wanted to.
The defending state champion Indians scored seven goals in the second half Wednesday en route to a 10-0 rout of the Raiders (8-8) at Cheyenne Mountain Stadium.
Ranum's first postseason trip also will be its last. The school will be absorbed by Westminster this fall to form a 5A school.
"We've never been in this position before, and I think having the school close this year was definitely a little extra motivation for us," Raiders coach Robert Pablo said. "But we played together as a team this year; no one had any individual agendas."
The No. 3 seed Indians (14-2) held a 3-0 lead at halftime, but shut down any hope of a Raider comeback by scoring twice in the first 11 minutes of the second half. Sophomore midfielder Kat Murphy beat No. 30 Ranum goalkeeper Anna Olivas less than three minutes into the half to make it 4-0.
A goal from senior Cierra Wilde eight minutes later put the Indians up by five.
"Today we were just connecting really well with our passing, which is the key for us," Indians coach Nikki Athey said. "We were able to come out early and get the lead, but after halftime we really kept them out of it."
Cheyenne Mountain tacked on five additional goals in the next 25 minutes before the 10-goal mercy rule ended the game with more than four minutes left.
"Cheyenne Mountain has a very disciplined attack that begins with their defense," Pablo said. "They stayed with that all game and they just kept coming."
The Cheyenne Mountain attack was as well-balanced as it was relentless. Eight different Indians scored. Both Wilde and senior forward Simone Domme had two goals.
The Indians will host No. 14 Pueblo South (12-2-1) Friday in the second round.
"At this point in the season, you've got to take every game one at a time," Athey said. "You never really know what to expect, but each game is going to be a battle."
