Niwot girls soccer loses in first round to D'Evelyn

Returning to the playoffs after missing the tournament last year, the Niwot High School girls soccer team played a tough game but ultimately lost to D’Evelyn 4-1 last Wednesday.

Despite the loss, the girls still gave the season everything they had and should be proud of the 10-6 record for the season.

Niwot Head Coach Rob Johnson reiterated that statement after the loss, saying this loss was more on the coaches than the player’s effort.

“These girls worked so hard and as coaches it’s our job to make adjustments,” Johnson said. “Nothing was clicking today, D’Evelyn is a very complete team, and they took advantage of us not pushing forward at first.”

The score was tied 1-1 at half time. D’Evelyn scored first in the half but junior Kailee Stobbe quickly answered, finding the back of the net after a great pass from fellow junior Maddie Barkow.

Sophomore goal keeper Ali Colvin did a great job keeping D’Evelyn off the board for the rest of the half, recording seven saves in the first half and giving her team a chance.

“It was two teams battling out there and if we had just been a little smarter we could have gotten that game,” Johnson said.

In the second half, Niwot just couldn’t get in a rhythm on offense after giving up another quick goal and going down 2-1. Colvin had another great half between the poles with another seven saves, but the onslaught of the D’Evelyn attack was relentless and they ultimately scored another two goals, giving them the 4-1 win.

Niwot only had three shots on goal in the second half and just had a hard time possessing the ball against the disciplined D’Evelyn defense.

With the loss, the Rob Johnson era of Niwot soccer has officially come to a close. After six seasons as the boys head coach and three seasons leading the girls, Johnson is taking the boys head coaching job at Silver Creek High School where he will be coaching his son.

Johnson said he is excited for his new opportunity to build a program, but he wishes he could still coach this great group of girls that will be returning next year.

“As excited as I am to take over at Silver Creek, I hate to leave these girls,” Johnson said of his new opportunity. “Niwot will be fine without me, they have a great new coach taking over and some amazing talent returning. It’s still a little sad though.”

Of all the things he did for the program, Johnson said the most important part of his legacy is the approach he tried to instill in his athletes.

“I tried to bring a new mentality to the girls side,” Johnson said. “I challenged them to work, to leave it all on the field, to not be afraid to fail.”

Though Johnson will be missed, bringing back players such as Barkow and Stobbe has Niwot set to continue their success rather than start a new rebuilding process.