DENVER | The Cherokee Trail girls soccer team continue to show how different this season is from last.
Coach Jeremy Schaller’s Cougars graduated just one reserve player from last season’s 7-9 team that learned a lot from a first round exit of the Class 5A girls state soccer tournament and is putting its noticeable chemistry and experience to work in the young 2015 season.
Cherokee Trail won the Air Academy Tournament for the first time in nine seasons and attacked non-league play with a vengeance on Monday, keeping up the pressure up from start to finish in an 11-1 overwhelming of defending Denver Prep League champion George Washington on the Patriots’ home field.
Sisters Rebekah and Taylor Burton combined for seven goals and three assists and freshman Alesia Garcia tallied twice as well as Cherokee Trail scored early and often to improve to 4-1. Schaller’s team yielded a second half goal to the Patriots, who dropped to 0-5.
Rebekah Burton scored in the first few minutes of the contest and added three more the rest of the way, pushing her season total to eight goals in just five games in her sophomore season. She tallied 14 goals in 12 games last season.
The Burtons accounted for three of Cherokee Trail’s four goals in the first half, while they tallied three more in the second half. Garcia scored a goal in each half and Courtney Schmidt and Hailey Gessner also found the back of the net in a seven-goal second half.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
CHEROKEE TRAIL 11, GEORGE WASHINGTON 1
Score by halves:
Cher. Trail 4 7 — 11
Geo. Wash. 0 1 — 1
Cherokee Trail goals: Rebekah Burton 4, Taylor Burton 3, Alesia Garcia 2, Hailey Gessner, Courtney Schmidt; Cherokee Trail assists: Rebekah Burton 2, Taylor Burton, Garcia, Gessner, Schmidt; Cherokee Trail saves: Taylor Heil (2 shots on goal-1 save)
