LONGMONT — The Skyline girls soccer team is rolling right along this season and the Falcons just seem to get stronger with every game they play.
Undefeated since the opener, the Falcons won their ninth game of the season on Monday in the form of an 8-1 dismantling of visiting Berthoud. With the home stretch of the regular season nearing, the Falcons used the big win to measure where they stand as a team before making the final push in their attempt to win the Tri-Valley League.
On the cusp of a double-digit win streak, the Falcons are in a pretty good place.
“I think we connected very well as a team today,” Falcons junior forward Kalen Niedling said. “When we finish and put it in the back of the net, the results have come. We’ve been working hard in practice and this gets us ready for the rest of the week with Holy Family and Arvada West coming up. We have great chemistry this season and that’s been the biggest difference for us this year.”
Behind a breakout performance from potential-laden sophomore Brie Musser, who had four goals and an assist, the Falcons (9-1, 3-0 Tri-Valley) raced out to a 4-0 halftime lead against the Spartans (4-6, 0-3 Tri-Valley). Niedling, who is tied with Whitney Parkinson for the team lead with 11 goals, had two goals and a pair of assists.
Monday’s win pushed the Falcons into a three-way tie for the lead in the Tri-Valley League. With the way they have played to this point in the season, the Falcons have now set their sights on a league title with league contenders Windsor (8-1, 2-0 Tri-Valley) and Holy Family (3-5, 2-0 Tri-Valley) still remaining on the schedule.
“If we overcome Holy Family and Windsor, I think we can give the league a battle this year,” Niedling said.
The Falcons will host Holy Family on Wednesday and will hit the road to face Windsor on May 1. The Falcons lost 3-0 to Windsor last season and played Holy Family to a scoreless draw.
“We’ve had an amazing first half of the season and the girls have pleasantly surprised me with their play,” Falcons head coach Luis Chavez said. “We may not have a bunch of girls who are known as the highest caliber of club girls soccer but they way they have come together, they can do great things when they connect. In general, our whole team has played with amazing heart to put together the performances so far.”
Brad Cochi: cochib@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/BradCochi
Skyline 8, Berthoud 1
At Skyline H.S.
Berthoud (4-6, 0-3) 01—1
Skyline (9-1, 3-0) 44—8
Goals —Skyline: Musser 4, Niedling 2, Fortes, Gilbert.
Assists —Skyline: Niedling 2, Fortes 2, Parkinson, Billeter, Musser.
Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — Skyline: Meyer (80-1-4).
