The Bayfield High School girls soccer team ended the regular season with a 10-0 win over the Ignacio Bobcats under the lights Friday night at Wolverine Country Stadium.
On a night Bayfield honored its seniors, head coach Jen Zelinski hoped the victory would be enough to get the Wolverines into the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 3A state soccer tournament.
Bayfield (9-2-2, 9-1-2 3A Region 5 League) currently is in third place in the league standings behind Telluride (10-2-2, 9-1-2) and Pagosa Springs (10-4-1, 10-2-0), and is ranked No. 23 by CHSAA. The top-20 teams will make the state tournament.
“It feels good to end the season with a win,” Zelinski said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “Right now, we’re firing on all cylinders. Hopefully, we did all that we could to get the wild card spot.”
The top teams in each league in Class 3A make the postseason, but the rest are voted on by CHSAA. Each team’s record and strength of schedule will be taken into consideration upon the voting process.
Bayfield quickly built an 8-0 lead over Ignacio (0-10, 0-10) by halftime.
When Bayfield put up a big lead early in the first half, Zelinski dialed her team’s offense back a little by instructing her team to complete at least six connected passes before shooting. She then took away a player to make Bayfield play with only 10 to Ignacio’s 11.
After halftime, Zelinski instructed her team to connect 15 passes before shooting with only nine players on the field. Senior Lexa Fleming capitalized her senior season with a goal off a penalty kick. The goal that put the game at 9-0 was Fleming’s only goal of the season.
Brianna Martinez capped the game off with the final goal of the game with eight minutes left in regulation. Martinez received a pass from Bryannah Isiordia for the final play.
Martinez finished the game with two goals. Isiordia ended the game with a goal and an assist. Savannah Kaufmann added three goals and an assist, and Maddy Duran finished her senior season with a two-goal performance. Misty Helton added a goal on her own. Makenna Cowan had three assists, Sophie Turner had two assists and Lenka Doskocil had one.
“I know my team, and we’ve had success in the playoffs before, so hopefully that will help,” Zelinski said. “Of course I’m nervous, I hate not knowing. I just hope we get that wild card.”
Brackets will be released Sunday.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
