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Rangers, Titans survive round one
  
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Ranger run stops in two
By Ryan Boldrey
Lewis-Palmer was the one soccer team from the Tri-Lakes region that managed to get two playoff games in around the weather this past week.
And the good thing for the Rangers was that the only reason they were able to get a second one in was because they took care of business in round one.
Senior Scott Thompson netted three goals, completing his hat trick with a snazzy bicycle kick, as No. 9 seeded LP (10-5-2) cruised 6-0 over No. 24 Pueblo South (8-7-1) in first-round action Oct. 27 at Don Breese Stadium.
The Rangers were then unable to practice the next two days due to snow, but head coach Toni Furrer rented space Oct. 30 at the Colorado Sports Center so his squad would get at least some time in on the field before heading to Fort Collins to face No. 8 Fossil Ridge (12-4-1) on Halloween.
Unfortunately for LP, its brief run ended there, and after giving up a 1-0 halftime lead, the Rangers fell, 2-1.
“If we played those guys three times, I think we would beat them two out of three,” Furrer said afterwards. “I would have liked to have seen the seeds flip-flopped, to have us eight and them nine, and I think the results would have gone a little more in our favor, but whenever it’s eight vs. nine you know you are going to get a good matchup.”
And despite falling short of the season-long goals of getting back to the 4A Final Four— or at least getting to the quarters— Furrer felt satisfied with his first-year head coaching job.
“I think you measure a season from where you start to where you finish and we definitely improved from beginning to end,” he said. “It might not be up to par for what LP’s standards are, but I think we did OK.”
The Classical Academy
The No. 5 seeded Titans (14-2) advanced to the second round of the 3A playoffs with a 4-0 win over visiting Manual on Oct. 31.
They were led by first-half goals from Cole Cheshire and Evan Young and second-half scores from Brad Dyess and Micah McEwan, along with a perfect day in net from Josh Mesward.
TCA was set to host the winner of No. 12 Lutheran Parker and No. 21 Bruce Randolph on Nov. 3 in round two, and if the Titans continue to advance they would play in the quarterfinals Nov. 5 and the semifinals on Nov. 7, with the state finals scheduled for Nov. 10 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Pine Creek
Once again, the Eagles headed into the postseason with high expectations. Once again they fell short.
No. 7 Pine Creek (11-4-1) was stunned in the first round of the 5A playoffs, 1-0, by No. 26 Chaparral (7-8-1) on Oct. 30 at D-20 Stadium.
“We dominated the game, I thought, but we couldn’t find the back of the net,” said coach Ben Corley. “This is one of the most talented group of guys I have ever had. It’s a frustrating way to end the season.”
Palmer Ridge
The Bears (13-3), who cracked the postseason in just their second year, found the going tough as they fell, 4-2, to No. 13 Pueblo West (13-2-1) in the first round of the 4A playoffs Oct. 27 in Pueblo.
“This year we really set the foundation for the kind of team we want to be,” said head coach Nick Odil. “Next year we hope to make the playoffs again and then we’ll have that experience going forward, and hopefully we’ll be able to win a couple games in the playoffs.
“Part of the problem this season is that we didn’t play a whole lot of high-level competition and next year that definitely is going to change, because we’ll be thrown in with the Lewis-Palmers and the Cheyenne Mountains and the Air Academies, so as we move forward we’ll be more prepared for bigger games in the years to come.”
And the good thing for the Rangers was that the only reason they were able to get a second one in was because they took care of business in round one.
Senior Scott Thompson netted three goals, completing his hat trick with a snazzy bicycle kick, as No. 9 seeded LP (10-5-2) cruised 6-0 over No. 24 Pueblo South (8-7-1) in first-round action Oct. 27 at Don Breese Stadium.
The Rangers were then unable to practice the next two days due to snow, but head coach Toni Furrer rented space Oct. 30 at the Colorado Sports Center so his squad would get at least some time in on the field before heading to Fort Collins to face No. 8 Fossil Ridge (12-4-1) on Halloween.
Unfortunately for LP, its brief run ended there, and after giving up a 1-0 halftime lead, the Rangers fell, 2-1.
“If we played those guys three times, I think we would beat them two out of three,” Furrer said afterwards. “I would have liked to have seen the seeds flip-flopped, to have us eight and them nine, and I think the results would have gone a little more in our favor, but whenever it’s eight vs. nine you know you are going to get a good matchup.”
And despite falling short of the season-long goals of getting back to the 4A Final Four— or at least getting to the quarters— Furrer felt satisfied with his first-year head coaching job.
“I think you measure a season from where you start to where you finish and we definitely improved from beginning to end,” he said. “It might not be up to par for what LP’s standards are, but I think we did OK.”
The Classical Academy
The No. 5 seeded Titans (14-2) advanced to the second round of the 3A playoffs with a 4-0 win over visiting Manual on Oct. 31.
They were led by first-half goals from Cole Cheshire and Evan Young and second-half scores from Brad Dyess and Micah McEwan, along with a perfect day in net from Josh Mesward.
TCA was set to host the winner of No. 12 Lutheran Parker and No. 21 Bruce Randolph on Nov. 3 in round two, and if the Titans continue to advance they would play in the quarterfinals Nov. 5 and the semifinals on Nov. 7, with the state finals scheduled for Nov. 10 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Pine Creek
Once again, the Eagles headed into the postseason with high expectations. Once again they fell short.
No. 7 Pine Creek (11-4-1) was stunned in the first round of the 5A playoffs, 1-0, by No. 26 Chaparral (7-8-1) on Oct. 30 at D-20 Stadium.
“We dominated the game, I thought, but we couldn’t find the back of the net,” said coach Ben Corley. “This is one of the most talented group of guys I have ever had. It’s a frustrating way to end the season.”
Palmer Ridge
The Bears (13-3), who cracked the postseason in just their second year, found the going tough as they fell, 4-2, to No. 13 Pueblo West (13-2-1) in the first round of the 4A playoffs Oct. 27 in Pueblo.
“This year we really set the foundation for the kind of team we want to be,” said head coach Nick Odil. “Next year we hope to make the playoffs again and then we’ll have that experience going forward, and hopefully we’ll be able to win a couple games in the playoffs.
“Part of the problem this season is that we didn’t play a whole lot of high-level competition and next year that definitely is going to change, because we’ll be thrown in with the Lewis-Palmers and the Cheyenne Mountains and the Air Academies, so as we move forward we’ll be more prepared for bigger games in the years to come.”
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