NHS girls soccer to state playoffs

The Niwot Cougars will head to Lutheran High School in Parker for the first round of the state Class 4A girls soccer playoffs on Wednesday, May 8.

The game is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the 12th-seeded Lutheran Lions hosting Niwot, which finished the season at 8-3-4, giving the Cougars the 22nd seed.

Lutheran closed out its 9-4 regular season with a 1-0 loss to Mullen, which is seeded 15th. "I'm excited to see them," Cougar Coach Stephen Dimit said. "They were a finalist last year and finished runner-up."

The Cougars finished the regular season on a high note, with a 10-0 victory over Roosevelt. "It was a win I think we needed," Dimit said. "We got a few of them thinking about the back of the net." The Cougars had battled Thompson Valley High School to a 0-0 tie on April 25, and two days earlier, also came home with a 0-0 tie against Skyline High School.

Senior Menbere Sullivan led the scoring against Roosevelt with two goals, while sophomore Heather Humphrey added one goal and two assists. Senior midfielder Margaux Boyer, junior midfielder Ruth Becker and sophomore midfielder Brynn Schlarb each scored a goal and added an assist.

Others contributing to the offense included freshmen Diya Mehta, Hannah Wurth and Ashley Grier, with one goal each, and junior Victoria Villavicencio, who also added a goal.

Senior Evelyn Hess, junior Madison Ackerman and freshman Cyrena Allen also notched assists for the Cougars.

Goalkeeper Mariah Fletemeyer was perfect in goal, though the night was not as eventful for her as the two previous games. In both the Skyline and Thompson Valley games, Niwot's defense came through in the clutch.

"All of our defenders have been great," Dimit said. "Our two senior captains, Paige Russell and Margaux Boyer, have been big. They score goals and set up opportunities. They've been there before," Dimit said of his two veterans with state playoff experience.

The Cougars have missed Rylie Fletemeyer, who went down with an injury a few weeks ago. They've also been missing senior Tracy Yu, who has been concentrating on tennis as a two-sport athlete. Yu qualified for state at No. 2 singles for Niwot last week.

Dimit is not certain yet whether Yu will be able to play against Lutheran. "She'll be there with us, and will keep going down to Pueblo for state tennis," he said.