Getting far more acquainted with Savannah Kaufmann Tuesday evening than any goalkeeper would usually dare, Pagosa Springs' Diana Scott knew she had no other choice.
"Honestly, she was probably the one I was worried about; she's so fast," said the sophomore. "So I just knew if I had a one-v-one I had to get on it. Otherwise, she would have gotten it."
Scary thing was, Scott could have been referring to any number of instances in which Bayfield's junior put her to the test: A 15th-minute breakaway, another in the 33rd, yet another in the 54th and still yet another in the 71st. Fortunately for the Pirates, by the time Scott snared Kaufmann's left-footed drive as Golden Peaks Stadium's clock ticked under ten minutes remaining, PSHS had hustled up an impressive 5-0 lead.
But the visitors, exhausted as they were becoming, weren't ready to concede anything.
And that, maybe more than anything else, kept the home side on its collective toes.
"Especially as a goalie," noted Scott. "Since they're our rivals, it just keeps you going the whole game."
Kaufmann managed one last strong shot attempt in the 77th, but the ball never neared Scott as a defender's leg was in the right place and right time. And even as stoppage time was underway, Scott had to hurry to scoop up sophomore Caibri Schaefer's developing breakaway chance in the 81st to preserve a clean sheet.
"I think this was definitely an improvement over Salida; we definitely worked a lot harder," Schaefer said, alluding to a 2-0, non-league home loss four days earlier. "I'm really proud of everyone who was out there."
"In the second half we definitely brought it up and played as hard as we could," she continued. "Could definitely have scored a little, but the score...I don't think it reflects how we played at all."
Unluckily, Pagosa Springs (7-2, 5-0 3A/2A Intermountain) ably played at or above that intensity.
Junior Alyssa Lewis got the scoring started in the fourth minute with a fluke shot that deflected off a BHS defender and past goalie Kailee Millard, off her line tracking the ball's initial trajectory. Taking a perfect left-to-right cross from senior Hannah Marnocha, senior Hayley Mitchell marked in the 12th for a key two-score advantage.
Both sides then began settling into a more typical Pagosa-Bayfield pace, and after Marnocha shot high over the crossbar in the 31st and Scott robbed Kaufmann soon after, Millard leapt to deny a well-placed Marnocha shot in the 34th. Schaefer was later fouled on a breakaway rush in the 39th, but rather than any sort of penalty being awarded, the Lady Wolverines (3-5, 2-2) were whistled for being offside.
Yet as intermission arrived, Bayfield had almost completely forgotten the rough start.
"We worked really hard," explained Schaefer. "You know, when you make a mistake you want to bounce back, so that's what we were trying to do: Make a mistake? Forget about it and move on; you'll play better."
Pirate junior Alanah Gallegos converted a second-chance volley from inside BHS' 18 in the 59th to make the score 3-0, but Bayfield junior Sophie Turner, playing a solid all-around game, nearly countered in the 60th with a low shot at Scott's near post, forcing the keeper to again magnify her focus.
The match's true highlight then came in the 66th. PSHS sophomore Sarah Ross outhustled a defender to a pass with too much length, preventing the ball from crossing the end line and tapping it back to a supporting Mitchell. Mitchell then immediately served a perfect cross to Lewis at Millard's far post, and Lewis executed a perfect header which had local rooters - likely not expecting so many scores - roaring for the next five minutes.
Ross then helped crank up the volume even more with a 69th-minute follow-up out of a jumble about 10 yards in front of a screened Millard, but as mentioned before, there was still much soccer left to be played.
Unofficially, Millard made 10 total stops as Pagosa Springs put 15 of 22 shots on frame, while Scott collected seven total saves as Bayfield put six of seven attempts on target. The Pirates also gained six corner kicks to the Wolverines' zero.
Up next on BHS' schedule is a 4 p.m. kickoff Friday at Alamosa (6-0, 5-0), with AHS then slated to visit Wolverine Country Stadium for a 4 p.m. start on Tuesday, April 18.
IHS ALTERS SCHEDULE: Elsewhere in the IML, Ignacio Athletic Director Rocky Cundiff e-mailed this reporter Wednesday morning that the Bobcats' schedule has been changed. The April 13 home game versus Del Norte and April 15 contest versus Center have been moved to April 21 (at 4 p.m.) and 24, respectively.
The Center match will now also begin at 5 p.m. and be played neutrally at PSHS' Golden Peaks Stadium.
