Fossil Ridge edges Castle View for Class 5A girls soccer title off late header by Teagan Myers

COLORADO SPRINGS When Cyrus Salehi took over Fossil Ridge girls soccer last year he saw a operation in need in change And that s exactly what Salehi brought to Fossil Ridge a band that he says lacked an edge before No more though In the battle of the Sabercats on Wednesday at Weidner Field Fossil Ridge edged Castle View - in the Class A title competition to break through for the school s first girls soccer championship When I took over the scheme last year they hadn t reached past the second round in about years Salehi revealed One of the things we yearned to rebuild and rebrand was a gritty selfless mentality because in the playoffs talent doesn t win Beliefs grit and scrappiness wins This has been a soft sissified activity for too a multitude of years When I came in what I declared was we were going to bring the fight to a lot of players to a lot of teams We were going to have grit We re going to take teams by surprise because they re going to think it s the same Fossil And we were not Teagan Myers hoists the A championship trophy after defeating Castle View winning the A state soccer championship championship at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs Colorado on Wednesday May Myers scored the winning goal Fossil Ridge won - Photo by Andy Cross The Denver Post The SaberCats from Fort Collins used a header by Teagan Myers late in the second half to fend off the Sabercats from Castle Rock in a well-played showdown between two evenly matched teams making their first title match appearances Castle View had the meeting s first true scoring chance about minutes in when Fossil Ridge junior keeper Shay Masters came out to block a shot at the top of the box and then located herself out of position when Castle View repossessed the ricochet But the Fossil Ridge defense came up with a couple of key blocks to keep the tournament scoreless Halfway through the first half Fossil Ridge had its first chance when junior Lily Wale fired a shot from inside the box that went just over the crossbar Fossil Ridge continued to push the tempo down the stretch of the half but couldn t cash in as Castle View sophomore keeper Elly Bowers stood tall and her defense prevented any unobstructed looks Related Articles Loveland Classical wins school s first championship and city s first girls soccer title with domination of Flatirons Academy Evergreen taps into championship mettle to claim Class A girls soccer title thriller Colorado Academy dominates upstart Timnath to repeat as Class A girls soccer champions Niwot girls storm to sixth straight A state track title Our heavy hitters really hit hard Keeler Meet Colorado state track champion who refused championship medal Both keepers continued to impress early in the second half Bowers raced up in the box to cut off certain would-be chances before they could develop while on the other end Masters leapt up and snared a corner kick before it could find a Castle View head I was kind of surprised I came down with it not going to lie Masters disclosed with a laugh But that come-up on the cross was perhaps my best save of the day With left the stalemate was on the cusp of cracking when Castle View was called for a handball in the box That set Wale up for a penalty kick Bowers dove right and blocked it then grabbed the loose rebound before more Fossil Ridge players could swarm in and get their feet on it We have been resilient all year and it s been S U M O Shut Up Move On Salehi declared As soon as that missed PK happened I reported Okay This is our opportunity to get what s next And we got what s next Teagan Myers Fossil Ridge celebrates her game-winning goal against Castle View in the second half of the girls A state soccer championship encounter at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs Colorado on Wednesday May Photo by Andy Cross The Denver Post Wale had her redemptive moment about six minutes later when her perfectly placed cross revealed the head of Myers The senior captain headed it in off the turf off Bowers diving hand and into the net for a - Fossil Ridge lead with about eight minutes left I had that feeling on that corner that we weren t going to get a multitude of more chances and I had to make it happen in that moment stated Myers a Kentucky commit To be able to help solidify this amazing win in a historic moment for our company felt so good Wale a Washington State commit noted that as soon as Teagan got a head on it I knew it was going in A couple of minutes later Castle View had a great look at an equalizer but couldn t put it home Masters made a diving save off a free kick just outside the box then Castle View s Jaya Dern rushed in and kicked the rebound just over the net The Fossil Ridge defense did the rest to earn the trophy We couldn t bury chances early on and momentum switched for about seven minutes in the second half toward Castle View Salehi noted But we took it back buried the goal and holy cow we came to finish the encounter The domination gave Salehi his second state title as a coach as he also led Liberty Common to the Class A crown in via an undefeated season From left to right Fossil Ridge soccer players Jordan Killion Teagan Myers Reese Morgan and Bella Robinson celebrate after Myers scored the competition winning goal against Castle View in the second half of the girls A state soccer championship championship at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs Colorado on Wednesday May Hayden Hill Castle View upper right walks past celebration Fossil Ridge won - 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