LAFAYETTE — The Peak to Peak girls soccer team was in the unique position Thursday night of having beaten its opponent earlier in the season, but still feeling a need for revenge.
After a 3-0 home win against The Classical Academy in the Class 3A girls soccer quarterfinals, that yearning is fully replenished.
TCA, you see, beat the Pumas in last season’s championship game. A 2-0 blanking of the Titans in the second game of this season wasn’t enough payback.
“We felt like they deserved a little more of a punishment, you know?” Pumas forward Lea Maxwell said. “They beat us in state 1-0 which was tough for all of us with it being our first trip to the championship. Getting them back this way was a little nicer.”
The Pumas (15-3) didn’t waste time, jumping to a 2-0 lead before 10 minutes had elapsed. First, Emily Gardner’s corner kick was punched away by Titans goalie Claire LaValley, but Pumas junior midfielder Michaela Vanderheiden was waiting at the top of the box and ripped home a shot in the seventh minute.
“Michaela has come on since midseason, maybe a little before that, and she has just shown such great awareness on the field,” said Peak to Peak assistant coach Joe Swanson, who again was filling in with Peter Chandler on a college-graduation tour for his quintuplets. “Her touch is just impeccable.”
In the ninth minute, the Pumas struck again when Belle Morel delivered a terrific feed to Maxwell, who broke free ahead of the pack and hammered home a top-shelf shot to the far post.
“Belle served it perfectly and I just used my speed to get around the defender,” Maxwell said.
The Pumas tacked on a goal early in the second half, with Gardner scoring off a setup from Kaja Lamvik.
TCA (12-3-3) patched things together this season despite losing five starters to season-ending injuries. With Peak to Peak playing at peak efficiency, it was too much for the Titans.
“Our goal was to frustrate them in the opening minutes, but they got an early goal and that kind of threw us off a little bit,” Titans coach Blake Galvin said.
Chandler will also miss the semifinals against Faith Christian (12:30 p.m., Saturday, All City Stadium) but will return if the Pumas advance to Tuesday’s championship game.
Swanson sensed his team still had a score to settle with TCA despite the early-season road win.
“Absolutely,” he said. “That 2-0 game was a windswept game, it was about 25 degrees and it wasn’t even fun to be on the field playing.”
Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Martinez made two saves for Peak to Peak, one of two public schools amongst the eight quarterfinal entrants in 3A.
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Peak to Peak 3, The Classical Academy 0
At Peak to Peak H.S.
The Classical Academy (12-3-3) 0 0 — 0
Peak to Peak (15-3) 2 1 — 3
Goals (assists) — Peak to Peak: Vanderheiden, 7th minute; Maxwell (Morel), 9th; Gardner (Lamvik), 47th.
Goalkeepers (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — The Classical Academy: LaValley (80-3-3); Peak to Peak: Matinez (80-0-2).
