Girls soccer: Mead wins in 1st round; hopes togetherness keeps them going
May 8—LONGMONT — When it's time to send someone out to convert a penalty kick in the playoffs, the choice is as obvious as a wine stain for the girls' soccer program at Mead.
And then again, maybe not.
It wasn't Katy Adler — the team's leading scorer and the reigning Longmont Times-Call player of the year — trotting confidently to the striking position in Wednesday's opening round of the Class 4A postseason. That was fellow junior Reese Ormsby. And later, senior Averi Williams.
Adler loves seeing them connect in those spots.
"We have been working super hard to get where we are, and working together is our strength," said Adler, who scored twice in Class 4A No. 5 seed Mead's 5-1 win over visiting No. 28 Cañon City. Smiling, she was more than content about missing two more chances to net her first playoff hat trick. Instead, watching Ormsby and Williams deliver. "Using each other, instead of just having it be one player, helps us a lot. Especially in big games like this."
Turning the program's first postseason win into a semifinal appearance last year is something the Mavericks are looking to piggyback off of in the weeks ahead. And this was a good start, coach Shane Adler said.
There were nerves, sure, the Mavs' coach said. But Adler, who is Katy's second cousin — or as he jokes, "her father, if we win" — loved his group's continued commitment to togetherness. The fact that both he and the team have complete trust on whoever he puts into big moments — like a postseason penalty — is just a microcosm of it.
"Last year, the semifinal loss left a sour taste in their mouth," he said. "They came together and learned the most from that loss last year. They came together as a team and put in the work over the summer and through the winter. And they've done a great job building chemistry off the field and it just shows on the field."
In their first postseason test this spring, the Mavericks (13-1-1) led for all but 1 minute and 47 seconds.
That was plenty of time for senior Hailey Grillas to set up Adler for her first of two goals in the opening half. The junior now has seven goals in her past four games and 20 on the year.
Grillas, herself, later scored in the 48th minute — between the set-makes from Ormsby in the 16th, then Williams in the 69th. Williams said before her PK, she got a "vote of confidence" from her teammates. Which is the way it always is.
"Obviously, we're not always going to make every shot, we're not always going to make every PK," she said. "But to have the team behind us in those moments — and even if we don't make it, knowing it's going to be OK — that just gives us that boost of confidence to improve. And to go farther in the game, to go farther in the playoffs, and hopefully make another run."
Next up: Perhaps a metaphor for how far they've come since their semifinal loss to Lutheran. The Mavericks host the 12th-seeded Lions (10-4) on Saturday, after the 2023 runner-up beat No. 21 Niwot 5-0 in the first round.
To keep advancing, "it's going to take all of us together," Ormsby said. "I think it's definitely going to be wanting it for each other. We had that success last year and teams are going to be more prepared for us. But I think if we really want it together, we're going to get there."
