The Manitou Springs girls soccer team is putting together a strong run of victories as it approaches a highly anticipated showdown with Colorado Springs Christian to conclude the regular season.
After the Mustangs’ 5-0 win over Vanguard on April 19, they rolled to a 10-0 defeat of rival St. Mary’s on April 21, and then had another strong showing in a 10-0 win over Florence on April 26.
In the victory over the Pirates, Cassidy Kuzbek and Sami Benge-Kulzer each scored two goals. Mary Kilpela, Madrid Mack and Erica Sherwin led the scoring effort over Florence with two goals each.
This is a team that’s gaining confidence with every win, no matter the perceived skill level of their opponents.
“Scoring goals is hard to do in a general setting,” coach Ben Mack said. “Scoring a lot of goals can always be a benefit and then on top of that, getting players who don’t always score a lot of goals, getting a little more confidence in front of the net can pay off when they’re in positions to score in a game situation.”
In their past six games, the Mustangs (10-2-1 overall, 4-0 Tri-Peaks) have outscored their opponents 44-2. The two goals they surrendered came in a 2-1 loss to Lutheran on April 16.
Since then, Manitou has played like a top team in the state and has held firm at No. 9 in the CHSAANow.com coaches poll.
The benefit for the Mustangs is that they understand that they’re getting respect that they are certainly due, but they’re not getting ranked highly enough for opponents to place a big target on them.
They sit comfortably in the middle of being good and being great, which is exactly what they want before they head into postseason play in May.
“We’re just trying to peak at the end of the season,” Abby Parker said. “This is our time to show what we’re made of. I think these wins help. I like the momentum.”
Manitou heads to Salida on Thursday, April 28, before facing the CSCS Lions on Tuesday, May 3. Both teams are undefeated in Tri-Peaks League play and both lost to Lutheran. Comparing the 6-1 Lions’ loss to the 2-1 Mustangs’ loss suggests that Manitou should have a bit of an edge in that matchup.
But everything that has happened this season is building to those two games, and Mack knows how crucial they will be.
“Salida is good enough that if we’re off, they can give us some trouble and make it a good game,” he said. “I’m excited that we’re ending the season with those two games and I think they’ll prime us (for playoffs) better than last year.”