COMMERCE CITY | The Smoky Hill girls soccer team desperately wants to place a second time at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, especially since the first time went to well.
The Buffaloes scored the first three goals of Saturday night’s Centennial League matchup with Cherokee Trail on the home field of the Colorado Rapids — which will be site of the Class 5A state championship game May 22 — and held on for a 3-2 victory.
Sophomore Madi Watts, senior Candace Cephers and freshman Sam Howshar each found the back of the net for Smoky Hill, which improved to 7-1-1 overall and 3-0 in the Centennial League. Howshar and Brynell Yount picked up assists for coach Andy Colella’s Buffaloes.
Senior Emily Burton and sophomore Aubrey Gessner each scored rebound goals in the final 13 minutes, but coach Jeremy Schaller’s Cherokee Trail squad dropped to 5-2-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.
The game was originally scheduled for April 16, but was wiped out by a snowstorm. The rescheduled contest came after the Rapids’ Major League Soccer game against the Seattle Sounders and the Rapids’ reserve game.
It took 28 minutes to break a scoreless tie, which Watts did with a long strike from about 40 yards out for her fifth goal of the season.
Watts ran unchallenged onto a clearing kick from Cherokee Trail goalie Marissa Kowalchuk and drilled a shot over Kowalchuk’s head as she retreated to toward the goal.
Nine minutes later, the lead doubled when Cephers buried a header to up her team-leading goal total to nine. Kowalchuk punched out a corner kick, which Howshar settled and drove high into the goal box, where Cephers redirected it into the net.
Smoky Hill took the 2-0 lead in halftime and it stayed that way for the first 19 minutes of the second half.
The Buffaloes added to their lead when Yount streaked in front the wing, got behind Cherokee Trail’s defense and hit a crossing pass out to Howshar, who temporarily lost the ball in the lights, but recovered to head it over Kowalchuk into the net.
The Cougars’ speed and desperation finally too effect in the closing minutes.
Burton drilled a rebound past Smoky Hill goalkeeper Megan Kneefel from point blank range in the 67th minute for her team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Cherokee Trail got another rebound score from Gessner with 2:05 left to make it a 3-2 game, but couldn’t get the equalizer.
Notes: The result was tempered a bit for Smoky Hill by some injuries, including a knee injury to Watts that forced her to sit out most of the second half and get helped out of the stadium when the game was over. Cephers also got hit in the face in the closing seconds.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
SMOKY HILL 3, CHEROKEE TRAIL 2
Score by halves:
Cherokee Trail 0 2 — 2
Smoky Hill 2 1 — 3
SCORING
First half — Smoky Hill: Madi Watts, 28th minute; Smoky Hill: Candace Cephers (Sam Howshar), 37th minute
Second half — Smoky Hill: Howshar (Brynell Yount), 59th minute; Cherokee Trail: Emily Burton, 67th minute; Cherokee Trail: Aubrey Gessner, 78th minute
