WESTMINSTER — As good as the Broomfield girls soccer team has been over the years, it’s definitely had some issues with rival Legacy.
On Thursday night at North Stadium, the Eagles exorcised those demons.
After going 1-2-1 against the Lightning over the past four seasons, seventh-ranked Broomfield left no doubt in Thursday’s regular-season finale, tallying five goals in just over nine minutes in the first half en route to a 7-0 victory over LHS.
Hailey Stodden racked up three scores, fellow sophomore Gia Lemley notched two, and senior captains Brooklynn Mooney and Michaela Stark added one each as the Eagles improved to 12-2-1 heading into the 5A playoffs. They finished Front Range League action at 9-2-1 (fourth place). Overall, they won nine of their last 10 games.
“Legacy has been a tough match for us,” Broomfield coach Jim Davidson admitted. “We challenged our girls that we hadn’t been great in this game the last couple of years, so we wanted to be sharp tonight. And we caught Legacy at a good time. They were fatigued (playing for the third straight day). They had a tough go of it. I’m sure fatigue set in, and emotional fatigue as well.
“But we got on it early and often and took care of it. It was good to separate early in the match.”
After the game was scoreless for the first 11 minutes, the floodgates opened. In the 12th minute alone, Mooney drew net off a rebound and Lemley hit paydirt after a long run through the middle of the field. Then after a short pause, Stodden (twice) and Lemley added three more goals in less than a four-minute span.
“Last year (a 1-1 tie with Legacy) made it a big game,” said Stodden, who scored at least three goals for the second time as a high school player. “We were more focused this time. We just took advantage of their mistakes, and we got on a roll from there.”
Whatever the case, the lopsided result left Legacy coach Luke Meadows a bit dumbfounded.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected this scoreline,” he said. “You look at this game, I don’t know if it was a 7-0 (discrepancy). Truth be told, it was a very, very awkward 20 minutes to start the game. Sometimes it happens, but unfortunately it was this game.”
So the Eagles, state runner-up each of the last three years (two in 4A, last season in 5A), will find out their playoff road when the 32-team 5A bracket is released on Sunday. Then on Tuesday they will begin their quest for the school’s second girls state soccer title. And make no mistake, after coming so close three straight years, only a state title will be satisfying this time around.
“Most importantly, we would love to get over the hump,” Davidson said. “But it’s hard; it’s not easy.”
As for Legacy (6-7-2), it will have to hope for one of 10 at-large berths in the 5A playoffs.
“It’s not inconceivable. I would say it’s an outside chance,” Meadows said. “But if it doesn’t happen, it was a disappointing way to end for the seniors. We win and lose games — that comes with the territory — but to do it this way in the last game, against Broomfield, you kind of wish you had those 80 minutes back.”
Thursday marked the 11th shutout victory of the season for Broomfield, which has outscored its opponents 72-7 this year.
“We lead 5A in number of goals scored and we’re second in goals against, so we defend well and we score a lot of goals,” Davidson noted. “It’s unfortunate that we’ve made some self-destructive errors. We feel like nobody has beaten us; we’ve just kind of beaten ourselves. If we can eliminate that self-destructive mistake, I think that we can maybe go on a run here.”
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Broomfield 7, Legacy 0
At North Stadium
Broomfield (12-2-1, 9-2-1)
5
2
—
7
Legacy (6-7-2, 4-6-2)
0
0
—
0
Goals (assists) —
Broomfield: Brooklynn Mooney, 12th minute; Gia Lemley, 12th minute; Hailey Stodden, 17th minute; Lemley, 20th minute; Stodden, 21st minute; Michaela Stark, 65th minute; Stodden, 67th minute.
Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) —
Broomfield: Shannon Mooney (50-0-0), Grace Fuller (30-0-2); Legacy: Sydney Schutter (21-5-1); Makenna Gottschalk (59-2-4).
