Fossil Ridge boys soccer wins 5A playoff opener to set up city showdown with Rocky Mountain
It took nearly the entire first half for the Fossil Ridge High School boys soccer team to zero in Wednesday night during its Class 5A first-round playoff game.
But once the SaberCats got going, they weren’t going to be stopped.
Not by visiting Rock Canyon, anyway.
Frankie Lowery scored a goal off a corner kick with 29 seconds left in the first half to tie the game, as Fossil Ridge (10-5-1) refocused at halftime and scored two more goals in the first 22 minutes of the second half in a 3-2 victory.
“We do that a lot,” Fossil junior Manuel Scelfo said. “We always start slow all the time, but then we pick it up in the second half and get going. It’s just hunger, I guess. We’re just hungry in the second half and want to get that win.”
Dylan Whisenant and Scelfo scored the second-half goals for the 11th-seeded SaberCats, who will meet crosstown rival and No. 27 seed Rocky Mountain (9-7) in a second-round game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fossil Ridge. Rocky upset No. 6 seed Arapahoe on the road Wednesday night.
Whisenant’s goal also came off a corner kick. The SaberCats’ first shot bounced off the goalpost. But Whisenant, a senior, was there to boot the ball back in off the rebound, giving Fossil Ridge a 2-1 lead just three minutes into the second half.
“Over halftime, we learned that we were going to be playing Rocky, and we really wanted to meet them in the playoffs,” Whisenant said.
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Scelfo, a junior, made it 3-1 with 18:39 remaining when he stole the ball from a Rock Canyon player deep in his own zone, dribbled through about 10 yards of open field and then fired it past the Rock Canyon keeper.
Owen Creeden scored a goal with 12:53 remaining for Rock Canyon, the No. 22 seed, to trim the Fossil Ridge lead to 3-2. But the SaberCats’ defense only allowed one legitimate shot after that, and goalkeeper Charlie Lewis leaped high to make the save.
Brady Janes scored the first goal for Rock Canyon, giving the Jaguars a 1-0 lead just more than two minutes into the game.
The slow start was reminiscent of what Fossil Ridge did last year while making a remarkable run as the No. 17 seed all the way to the state championship game, where the SaberCats lost 3-1 to Grandview.
This is a new team, though, with a lot of new players who moved up from sub-varsity teams, coach Dan Weiss said, wondering aloud what his team could do if it played first halves as well as it does second halves.
“You can do all you want before the game, and sometimes they just kind of get there and they’re a little wide-eyed," he said. "Sometimes, it just takes to the second half to adjust things and light that fire and be like, ‘If you guys want it, go take it.’
“They came out and did that today.”
Rocky Mountain stuns No. 6 seed Arapahoe
Rocky Mountain hit the road for the opening round of the playoffs as the No. 27 seed in the 32-team playoff bracket, and then shocked No. 6 seed Arapahoe 1-0 to advance.
Merlin Kautz scored the game's only goal.
Next up for the Lobos (9-7) is crosstown rival and No. 11 seed Fossil Ridge in a second-round game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fossil Ridge. Rocky Mountain tied for third-place in the eight-team Front Range North, while Fossil Ridge was the regular-season champion with a 7-0 league record that included a 2-0 win over Rocky Mountain on Oct. 4.
Fort Collins drops penalty-kick heartbreaker
This was a tough one.
The 16th-seeded Lambkins battled No. 17 seed Castle View to 110 scoreless minutes through double overtime, meaning their Class 5A first-round playoff game at French Field came down to penalty kicks.
The Castle View keeper stopped the first PK and the Lambkins couldn't stop one of their own as the visiting SaberCats won 0-0 (5-4 on penalties).
Fort Collins had its fair share of scoring chances late in regulation and overtime, but Castle View goalkeeper Ethan Tucker made some remarkable saves to keep FCHS off the board.
The Lambkins (9-6-1) dropped their last four matches of the season after a hot start had them firmly in the 5A top 10 during Sam Dietz's first season as head coach. But shutout losses to No. 11 Fossil Ridge, No. 1 Legacy and No. 4 Broomfield down the stretch dropped them all the way to the No. 16 line.
Liberty Common dominates Salida
The Eagles are the No. 4 seed in Class 3A and started slow for a half in their playoff opener vs. No. 29 Salida at French Field.
But they broke it open with four second-half goals to reach the second round, where Liberty Common (13-2-1) will face No. 20 seed Aurora West College Prep next Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Liberty Common's only losses have come to Class 5A schools Mullen and Valor Christian while the Eagles dominated the Patriot League with an unbeaten 7-0 mark.
No further stats were available from this game.
Coloradoan sports coach Chris Abshire contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fossil Ridge boys soccer wins playoff opener, will meet Rocky Mountain next
