Ballek sisters combine for 4 goals as Fossil Ridge crushes Castle View in playoff opener
For about 50 minutes, it looked like a close game.
But all the Fossil Ridge girls soccer team needed was its homefield advantage and some sisters' scoring touch.
Abby and Kiley Ballek combined for the ninth-seeded SaberCats' first three goals (four total) as they blew open a 1-score game to beat No. 24 Castle View 6-2 on Tuesday night at home.
Older sister and junior Kiley opened the scoring with a pair of first-half goals, including a curling top-shelf goal that clanked in off the post for the game's first goal.
"She got to a nice spot," Fossil Ridge coach Kim Whisenant said of the play. "I thought it was going wide but it banged in ... Kiley's dynamic nature out there is just fun to watch."
After Castle View trimmed the lead down to 2-1 late in the first half, freshman and younger sister Abby responded 10 minutes into the second with a deflected goal off a corner kick. She added another as Fossil Ridge poured it on in the second half.
Abby now has 21 goals on the season (top on the team) to go along with 11 assists in a phenomenal first season of high school play. Kiley has eight goals and eight assists this season.
"I had the opportunity to play with my sisters in high school and it's a neat thing for them and their whole family," Whisenant said. "To be able to share that together, it's memories you cherish forever."
The sisters' scoring gave Fossil Ridge all the cushion it needed, but the home SaberCats tacked on another pair of goals for good measure.
The late lead allowed Whisenant to substitute liberally late in what could be the final home match for many seniors.
"It's so nice to be able to win a game like this in the playoffs," she said. "Normally it gets so tight and you're worrying about winning only ... we got the goals and then we would sub and breathe a little bit."
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The next round is unlikely to be decided as early, as Fossil Ridge will travel to No. 8 Cherry Creek on Friday. The Bruins beat No. 25 Monarch at home 6-0 in their playoff opener and have allowed just eight goals all season through 16 matches.
"It'll be a lot different Friday," Whisenant said. "They'll be tough. It's a lot of players our players know from club ball, so we know it will be a big challenge."
Rocky Mountain pulls off road upset
It's been a tough, injury-filled season for No. 20 Rocky Mountain.
The Lobos had reason to celebrate on the road Tuesday night, though, holding off No. 13 Ralston Valley for a 3-2 upset.
Rocky Mountain lost leading scorer Skylar Haase to a knee injury in April and several other starters are also out for the season.
But the Lobos won five of their last seven matches, including a 1-0 home win over Ralston Valley on April 30 that gave them confidence they could do it again in the playoffs.
They backed it up Tuesday night, never trailing against the Mustangs (8-5-3).
Rocky is into the second round but the road gets tougher with a likely trip to No. 4 Grandview (13-1-2), which beat Denver East 2-0 on Tuesday. The Wolves have won four girls soccer state titles in the last six full seasons.
No further stats were immediately available.
Home heartbreak for Fort Collins
The Lambkins' girls soccer season ended with a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 17 seed Regis Jesuit at home on Tuesday evening.
No. 16 seed Fort Collins took a 1-0 lead in the first half on an own goal and held it until a Regis header midway through the second.
But the Raiders controlled possession for the vast majority of the game. Lambkins goalkeeper Paige Fry made 25 saves and kept Fort Collins alive early with several fantastic denials.
The pressure continued immediately in OT and it only took Regis Jesuit six minutes to cash in on a left-footed scorcher from outside the box that floated above Fry's reach.
It was an unceremonious ending for a young Lambkins team that punched above its weight all season long under first-year head coach Sam Dietz.
The Lambkins finished 6-3-1 in Front Range League, good for fourth place, and will lose only one senior. Fort Collins' top two goal scorers (Maria Armatas and Elyse McGinnis) combined for 23 goals this season and both were freshmen.
Chris Abshire is the sports and stats content coach at the Coloradoan. Contact him at ChrisAbshire@coloradoan.com. Support his work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado girls soccer playoffs: Fossil Ridge crushes Castle View
