The Fossil Ridge soccer team secured a shutout, defeating cross-town rival Poudre High School 2-0 on the road.

The Sabercats came out of the gate strong, scoring both of their goals in the first half. The first tally came from senior Dylan Whisenant, twenty minutes into the game, off an initial shot from forward Kevin Luo. The next one came from sophomore Adrian Morjon Martinez, as his shot deflected off a Poudre defender on its way to the net. 

After the offensive outburst in the first half, Fossil was able to secure the game based on their defensive performance, limiting their opponents to virtually no shots throughout the entire game.

However, Fossil’s biggest strength was their poise and ability to keep the ball, and therefore momentum, away from Poudre.

“We came in with a game plan, we were able to keep possession and work the ball around. Any of these inner city games can go either way, so it’s a good thing to shut them down early…” said head coach Daniel Weiss.

Another factor playing into this city matchup was the weather dynamic. With temperatures in the 50s and intermittent spurts of rain throughout, this was the first game all season the Sabercats had to fight through the elements. Their game plan stayed entirely unaffected, however Weiss mentioned that the team will start having longer recovery times to combat the adverse conditions.

Luckily the team will have plenty of time to recover, not playing for six days before matching up in league action against Erie High School. Erie is one of four new teams now part of the Front Range League, alongside Brighton, Northglenn, and Prairie View. Now that the league has been expanded to 16 teams, for certain sports like soccer, it has been split into a North and South division. While Fossil is stuck in the North division, they are one of only two teams in said division to finish in the top 6 last year, resulting in an easier schedule for the Sabercats. However, this new schedule allows the team to make changes that they wouldn’t have been able to do with the old format.

“It helps us become more well rounded. You look for your starting 11 through 14, but then we’re able to get into the bench a little bit and make sure everybody’s good, just in case you have injuries…you have a little bit of breathing room and try some stuff that you might not try against other teams,” Weiss said.

Fossil Ridge plays that previously mentioned  game against the Erie Tigers at home next Wednesday at 6 p.m.