Fossil Ridge High School’s girls soccer team earned a big road victory against Windsor High School, winning the contest 1-0.

The Sabercats understood the importance of this game, as Windsor sat as the second ranked team in 4A, making them one of Fossil’s toughest competitors yet. Both teams played cautiously in the first half, with no goals and nearly no shots. With both teams boasting impressive defenses, this slow start was to be expected. 

However, Fossil used their halftime break to make several in-game adjustments. These immediately paid dividends, as a freshman, Abby Ballek, scored less than five minutes into the second half. 

With the lead secured, the Sabercats were able to smother the Windsor attack, limiting any scoring chances they received. And any opportunities that did squeak through were immediately halted by our sophomore goalkeeper, Sydney Nelms.

“I make sure to take deep breaths and just focus…We needed that win as we’ve been having some rough spots, but this was a big win for us,” Nelms said.

Nelms held things steady between the posts, making six saves in a stellar performance. Despite the great outing, Nelms is grateful to the team’s defenders for their work in front of her.

“The defenders have been amazing this year, just getting in front of the ball and shielding everyone,” she said.

Fossil finds themselves in a stellar position, sitting at number twelve in the coaches poll and number eight in RPI rankings, with a record of 8-3-2. With these high-end spots, the Sabercats look to earn one, if not two, home playoff games when it comes to the postseason. 

The team now looks towards improving both their ranking and record, with a road game against Horizon High School on Tuesday, April 26. After that matchup, the team comes back home to close the regular season against Monarch High School on May 4.