Fossil Ridge girls soccer program right on schedule in Class 5A

Casual followers of girls soccer might look at Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins, Colo.) and wonder where the heck these girls came from.

The SaberCats, really? This wasn't a team that was among the handful of preseason contenders, was it?

A deeper look reveals that the process has been rolling for quite some time, and their proficiency on the pitch isn't very surprising at all. Despite a recent funk, the SaberCats enter Thursday's regular-season finale against Horizon (Thornton) with a 12-1-1 record that includes an 8-1-1 mark in the Class 5A Front Range League.

"I think it's just been maturity of our young players, who are now juniors and can finish," Fossil Ridge coach Robb Ball said. "That's the story. Anybody who is anybody and has a chance to win it has somebody who can finish."

The SaberCats have one of the best finishers in the circuit in Koree Willer, one of three juniors who will play college soccer at Iowa State.

"I think this year we're believing we can do it," Willer said. "We've always had the potential, but having the extra piece of confidence has made a big difference."

The reason the SaberCats might have slipped through the cracks is because they joined 5A last season and bowed out of the playoffs rather quietly with a 2-0 loss to Highlands Ranch in the round of 16.

The season before that, Fossil Ridge advanced to the 4A quarterfinals, where it lost to Annie Kunz and Wheat Ridge. The season before that, in 2008-09, Fossil Ridge finished 10-5-2 and lost to perennial contender Lewis-Palmer in the postseason.

Of course, the 5A teams didn't pay much attention to Fossil Ridge's exploits in 4A. Essentially, the SaberCats were an avalanche gaining steam, but few outside of their regular opponents saw or heard them coming.

The results this year have bordered on ridiculous. They have outscored opponents 63-10, and the 5-foot-7 Willer has scored 25 goals and registered 13 assists.

Unfortunately for the SaberCats, a 1-1 tie with Fairview last week and a 1-0 loss to Rocky Mountain on Tuesday likely will mean a second-place finish in league. If crosstown-rival Fort Collins takes care of Mountain Range on Thursday, the Lambkins will finish 10-1 in league (which would best Fossil Ridge's 9-1-1 if the SaberCats win). For the sake of perspective, Fort Collins has scored 25 goals all season – the same number as Willer – and the Lambkins have only a plus-nine scoring edge.

Put more simply, whichever team draws the Front Range League's No. 2 seed in the postseason will not be happy if it is Fossil Ridge and its plus-53 scoring margin.

Also standing out for the SaberCats this season has been Haley Murphy and Giulia Silva (nine goals and eight assists apiece) and Gracie Cutler (nine goals, two assists). Junior defender Lauren Roeling also has been an offensive force from the back line and will join Willer and Murphy at Iowa State in 2013-14.

Left back Taylor Nelson also will play Division I soccer, as she has committed to Cincinnati. Junior goalie Amy Ramras has recorded four shutouts.

Ball said the transition to 5A hasn't been too difficult, considering 4A had squads that were just as potent with the likes of Broomfield, Wheat Ridge and Lewis-Palmer.

"The transition didn't make too much of a difference, because there's always someone every given year where you have to be careful," Ball said. "You give them a sniff and they can score. There's a couple teams that can do that in both 4A and 5A."

Ball has been with the program for six seasons, the past four as a head coach, so he has overseen the entire process. Two of his daughters have come through the program and he also had served the dual role of Fossil Ridge's boys coach through this fall. His son, Avery, was a senior on the team this season.

The SaberCats' recent funk began April 26 against Fairview, when the Knights broke a scoreless tie with a penalty kick by Berkley Gamble in the 74th minute. The SaberCats responded in the 77th minute with a goal by Silva to force overtime and salvage the tie.

They weren't so fortunate Tuesday, when a first-half goal by Rocky Mountain's Jennifer Brumit stood up as the game-winner.

Despite the mini-slump, the SaberCats have a different feeling this season as the postseason draws near.

"As time has gone on, we've started to work together really well," said Willer, whose older sister Kylee was a senior on last season's team and whose younger sister, Kellee Willer, is a freshman defender on this year's squad. "All our hard work is paying off, and I really feel like we can do it."