Glenwood Springs soccer team draws Mountain Range

Demons to open playoffs Tuesday in Westminster

Click to Enlarge Browse and Buy Post Independent Photos Glenwood Springs High School's McKenzie Kuhn controls the ball past Palisade's Hannah Hardin during a game earlier this season in Glenwood Springs. Kelley Cox/Post Independent

By Jeff Caspersen
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
May 5, 2008

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WESTMINSTER, Colorado - As a Western Slope girls soccer team going up against powerhouses from the Front Range, it really didn't matter who Glenwood Springs drew in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.

The Demons would be considered the underdog no matter what.

Such is precisely the case for Glenwood, which will face 13-2-0 Mountain Range on Tuesday in a first-round matchup. The Mustangs enter the game with the No. 8 seed in the 32-team bracket, while the Demons are seeded 25th.

Awaiting Glenwood, which finished third in the 4A Western Slope League and was 9-4-2 overall in the regular season, is a Mustang team that's outscored opponents 86-5 for the season and is ranked No. 8 in the state by RockyPreps.

Demons coach Bryan Stoltzfus is hoping what he perceives as a statewide disrespect for Western Slope teams will motivate his girls.

Class 4A state girls soccer playoffs

First round | Tuesday, May 6 No. 24 Glenwood Springs (9-4-2) at No. 8 Mountain Range (13-2-0), time TBA

"I sure hope we do," he said. "I think we have something to prove. We want to get some respect."

Stoltzfus acknowledges, though, that the statewide slight is rooted in some truth.

Last year's Demons, for instance, were ousted by Fossil Ridge 8-0 in the first round. That, in a playoff bracket in which Western Slope teams were a combined 2-5.

But that isn't stopping the first-year coach from aiming high.

"We definitely have a better team than last year," he said. "We have some experience. Our juniors and seniors went to (last year's playoff game). We have to play some good, tight defense."

Stoltzfus is dead-on there. Mountain Range, which went 10-1 in the 4A Skyline Conference, has offensive firepower up and down its lineup.

Brandi Hopkins, who tallied 24 goals and 18 assists in the regular season, will no doubt be the most heavily marked player on the pitch.

"They look pretty tough," Stoltzfus said.

Other 4A Western Slope League schools in the playoffs include No. 21 Steamboat Springs (first round vs. No. 12 Cherokee Trail), No. 31 Delta (vs. No. 2 Golden) and No. 9 Battle Mountain (vs. No 24 Greeley West).

The Huskies were the 4A WSL champions and went a perfect 15-0 overall during the regular season.