Girls Soccer: Niwot extends shutout streak to three with 4-0 win over Palmer Ridge

Niwot girls head soccer coach Stephen Dimit was unabashedly pleased with his team’s performance at home against the Palmer Ridge Bears last Saturday. Behind junior Anna McCarthy’s two goals, the Cougars beat the Bears 4-0 to post their third consecutive victory and sixth consecutive half without allowing a point.

“I’m really happy,” a grinning Dimit admitted following the game. “It was a great game. This was a really big win for us.”

An animated Niwot offense generated a scoring chance in the game’s opening seconds, setting the stage for the rout to come. McCarthy scored her first goal on a long pass from senior Kailee Stobbe in the eleventh minute, and followed up with her second goal less than five minutes later.

Senior Maddie Barkow and freshman Lauren Cranny combined for Niwot’s third goal just seconds after that. Niwot got its fourth goal when senior Charlotte McCarthy netted her first score of the year less than two minutes into the second half.

“We’re focusing on connecting more passes, and today that showed,” said Dimit of the team’s season-high four goals. “We really dominated the ground play. We didn’t force ourselves into working so hard. We just came out with the mentality of owning the game.”

“We’re a good team,” he mused. “We just have to play like it every day.”

The coach said that it was also gratifying to finally have a game featuring the dynamic McCarthy sisters.

“Anna got us off to an amazing start today,” said Dimit of the younger sibling. “And Charlotte is so consistent and so stable as a player. She just gives us a lot of calm on the field.”

As for the defense, Dimit said that it’s hard to improve on six scoreless halves.

“They’re doing great, no goals allowed,” Dimit said. “Allie [Colvin]’s doing her job. Nazary [Ramirez-Tapia] and Kenzie [Pasma] are leading in the back, and all of our defenders, Lauren [Cranny], Roxie [Pasma], Ella [Miller], and Sierra [Keppler] do an amazing job.”

With the win, Niwot moved to 4-2 on the season, good for second place in the Northern League. Earlier in the week, Niwot picked up its first conference win of the season over Thompson Valley at home. Sophomore forward Grace Knight scored the game’s lone goal in the second half, her first of the year, as the Cougars beat the Eagles 1-0. The game scheduled for April 4 against Erie was postponed due to weather and has been rescheduled for April 21.

The Cougars take on rival Silver Creek (5-3, 0-1), now helmed by former Niwot coach Rob Johnson, on April 11, followed by a game at Centaurus (4-4, 1-0) on April 13. The Cougars return home on April 15 to host the Mead Mavericks (4-2-1).

4/7 — Niwot 1, Thompson Valley 0

Eagles (1-5, 0-1) 0 0 — 0

Cougars (3-2, 1-0) 0 1 — 1

Goals — Grace Knight

Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — Allie Colvin (80-0-6)

4/9 — Niwot 4, Palmer Ridge 0

Bears (2-4, 0-0) 0 0 — 0

Cougars (4-2, 1-0) 3 1 — 4

Goals — Anna McCarthy (2), Madison Barkow, Charlotte McCarthy

Assists — Kailee Stobbe (2), Madison Barkow, Lauren Cranny

Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — Allie Colvin (80-0-5)