Arvada West girls soccer stuns No. 3 Columbine

BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LAKEWOOD — It was de nitely a statement victory on the girls soccer pitch April 11 at Lakewood Memorial Field.

Arvada West methodically dismantled Columbine with a 6-1 victory in the Class 5A Je co League opener for both teams. e Wildcats (6-2, 1-1 in league) dominated possession and scoring chances against the Rebels, No. 3 in the CHSAANow.com rankings.

“It’s huge. I’m so happy right now,” Arvada West senior captain Ellie Pugliese said after the Wildcats handed Columbine (6-2, 0-2) its rst loss of the season.

e Wildcats scored six unanswered goals scoring in the 13th, 34th, 47th, 55th, 67th and 74th minutes to take a commanding 6-0 lead against Columbine that was o to its best start in decades.

Junior Kalli Ross got the scoring started with a de ection that got past Columbine freshman goalie Ella Rieben for a 1-0 lead for A-West. e margin doubled with a great shot from sophomore striker Isabella Teran a few minutes before halftime.

“ e girls played really well. I was really impressed with them,” A-West coach Brian Fowkes said. “We got stunned by Lutheran a little bit. I think that helped us pull something together.” e Wildcats su ered their rst loss of the season last Saturday with a 3-1 loss to Lutheran, No. 4 in the 4A rankings.

It was more of the same in the second half with Pugliese scoring back-to-back goals. e senior bent a corner kick into the net to put A-West up 3-0.

“I honestly didn’t mean to do it,” Pugliese said of hooking her corner kick into the net. “She (Rieben) had kind of fumbled one before so I tried it again. It just went in.”

Pugliese scored again ripping a shot into the back of the net for a 4-0 lead. Junior striker Brooke Pavlich made it a 5-0 lead when she drew a yellow card and penalty kick in the 67th minute. Pavlick took the PK and rolled it into the net.

“I was so happy when I saw that one go in,” Pugliese said of Pavlich’s penalty kick. “ at’s Brooke. She just keeps trying. She is the hardest worker on our team I think.”

Senior Sophia Jaskolka-Brown made it a 6-0 lead in the 74th minute.

“I didn’t know we could put up that number (six goals), but I de nitely thought we could win,” Pugliese said.

“Once we saw one (goal) go in we could feel them come. We thought we could totally do this.”

Columbine prevented the shutout with a goal by senior Sydney Somers in the 77th minute. e Rebels were still without leading scorer — senior Andrea Iljkic — who is with the Croatia national team for a few more days.

“I didn’t feel very comfortable,” Fowkes admitted despite the Wildcats never trailing. “I was nervous because a team like Columbine can come back at any time. ey are a quality team.”

Columbine dropped its second straight game with a 4-1 loss to Ralston Valley (7-3, 2-0) on April 14 at the North Area Athletic Complex.

A-West was back at Lakewood Memorial Field at the end of the week to square o against Chat eld in another 5A Je co League match. e Wildcats su ered a 4-2 loss to the Chargers. e loss put the Wildcats a game behind Chat eld, Ralston Valley and Valor Christian in the race for the 5A Je co League title.

Fowkes is in his rst season as the head coach for the Wildcats and has A-West in the conversation for a conference title.

“I hope we have a nice run this season,” Fowkes said. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Dennis Pleuss is the sports information director for Je co Public Schools. For more Je co coverage, go to CHSAANow.com.