Girls Soccer: Niwot rolls to three more wins

Led by Maddie Barkow and Kailee Stobbe, the Niwot girls soccer team outscored its opponents 16-3 in three games last week, including a convincing 4-2 win over the high-scoring Erie Tigers (8-4) and a 10-0 rout of the Greeley Central Wildcats (1-10), which saw eleven Cougars tally a point. For head coach Stephen Dimit, though, the game of the week was the Cougars’ narrow 2-1 win over crosstown rival Longmont, a team far more competitive than a 2-10 record suggests.

“Any time we can get a win over Longmont, it’s a big deal,” he said. “Everybody comes to play in that game. It doesn’t matter what the record of the teams is, it’s going to be a close game.”

In the game’s opening minutes, it seemed that this year might be the exception. Playing in pink jerseys for breast cancer awareness, the Niwot girls got on the board quickly after Barkow easily picked her way through a disorganized Trojan defense and took advantage of a misplay by the keeper for a tap-in with just three minutes gone. The Cougars kept up the pressure, but Longmont’s backfield regrouped and held the Cougars scoreless until the 31st minute, when juniors Anna McCarthy and Sage Marten combined for what would turn out to be the game-winning goal.

The Cougars’ 2-0 lead held through the 56th minute, but a high shot from Longmont junior Taylor Nielsen sailed just over keeper Allie Colvin’s outstretched fingers with 24:15 to go, cutting the Niwot lead in half. The Cougar defense took over in the game’s final minutes, fending off a persistent Trojans attack to secure the 2-1 win. Dimit said he wasn’t surprised by the Trojans’ tenacity, and he was even less surprised by his team’s response to it.

“That game was one the girls cared a lot about,” he said. “We worked really hard for that one.”

That win kicked off an impressive week for Niwot. Two days later, the Cougars notched three goals in the first five minutes of their road game at Greeley Central, on their way to a 10-0 blowout. Barkow and Stobbe combined for four goals and three assists in the 30-point game, and Barkow even spent some time in goal, giving Colvin a much deserved break.

Altogether, eight Niwot players found the back of the net, including senior Lauren Wolf, junior Mary Stischer, and freshman Lauren Cranny, who picked up their first goals of the year. Seniors Charlotte McCarthy and Meghan Jeske combined for another two scores, and junior Anna McCarthy picked up her fifth goal of the year. For Dimit, the scoring outburst was nice, but the game was important for more intangible reasons as well.

“It was all about playing better soccer together, and a lot of players contributed,” he explained. Another three Cougars had points in the game, including sophomores Elise Crall and Ava Dumler. “It turned out to be a really good game for us.”

Back in action the next night against Erie, Barkow and Stobbe were again front and center for the Cougars. Barkow recorded her first hat trick of the season, while Stobbe added another goal and assist, and is now fourth in the Northern League in total points (26). Together, the two are responsible for half of the Cougars’ goals (19 of 38) this season and one-third of their assists (11 of 33).

“Both of them are so competitive,” said Dimit of his star seniors, who scored nine goals for the team last week. “They’re seeing the opportunity right now to do more than they’ve done in the last couple of years in terms of how big of a playoff year we can have if we keep playing well. That competitive fire is lit under them right now, and they really want to win.”

Though perhaps overshadowed by the scoring frenzy, Dimit said the Cougar defense also deserved credit for the week’s victories, though he does admit that Erie gave them “a scare” last Friday night.

“I thought we let in a couple of goals that we didn’t need to,” he explained. “But by the end of the game, defensively we’d woken back up.

“Our defense is absolutely solid,” he continued. “When everybody’s clicking, and everybody’s working together, we can stall the best teams in the state.”

With the wins, the Cougars boosted their record to 9-3 and their Class 4A RPI ranking to 11th going into the last three games of the regular season. The Cougars will honor their seniors at their last home league game on Tuesday, April 25 against Mountain View (1-10). They then face Northridge (9-3) on the road on April 27, and wrap up the season at home against Littleton (4-8) on April 28.

“Northridge will be a challenge,” said Dimit of the Northern League’s point leader. “They’re a little bit hit or miss at the end here, but regardless, we really need that game.” Northridge’s three losses this season have all come in April, the most recent a 2-0 loss to Thompson Valley (5-6) on April 20.

“We’re going to come out and treat it basically like a playoff game,” he said. “They and Littleton are two good teams to see at the end of the season to get ready for games like that going forward.”

4/18 — Niwot 2, Longmont 1

Trojans (2-10, 1-3) 0 1 — 1

Cougars (7-3, 3-1) 2 0 — 2

Goals — Maddie Barkow, Anna McCarthy

Assists — Ava Dumler, Sage Marten

Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — Allie Colvin (80-1-3)

4/20 — Niwot 10, Greeley Central 0

Cougars (8-3, 4-1) 7 3 — 10

Wildcats (1-11-1, 1-4) 0 0 — 0

Goals — Maddie Barkow (2), Kailee Stobbe (2), Lauren Cranny, Meghan Jeske, Anna McCarthy, Charlotte McCarthy, Mary Stischer, Lauren Wolf

Assists — Sage Marten (3), Maddie Barkow (2), Ava Dumler (2), Elise Crall, Anna McCarthy, Kailee Stobbe

Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — Maddie Barkow (60-0-0), Allie Colvin (20-0-1)

4/21 — Niwot 4, Erie 2

Cougars (9-3, 4-1) 3 1 — 4

Tigers (8-4, 2-2) 1 1 — 2

Goals — Maddie Barkow (3), Kailee Stobbe

Assists — Charlotte McCarthy (2), Mary Stischer, Kailee Stobbe

Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — Allie Colvin (80-2-8)