Reloaded Bears set out to make another run in Colorado field hockey

There is something about playing Colorado Academy (Denver) that ignites a little extra fire into the Palmer Ridge (Monument) field hockey team.

It could be that the Mustangs are the three-time defending state champions – twice defeating the Bears in the championship game in that stretch. It could be that Palmer Ridge's season has come to an end against Colorado Academy in each of the previous four state tournaments.

Or it could just be that in order to be the best, Palmer Ridge realizes it must first beat the best.

"Colorado Academy is looking just as strong as they were last year," Bears coach Paul Lewis said Saturday morning, just a few hours before his team faced the Mustangs in a nonleague matchup. "This is one great test to see where we are."



Colorado Academy came out on top in that contest, edging Palmer Ridge 1-0 behind a first-half goal from Nellie Turnage.

While being dealt the first defeat of the season certainly wasn't pleasant, Lewis said going into the game that winning or losing wasn't vital – the bigger priority was for the players to prove to themselves that they could run with anyone in the state.

"I think we were able to run with them," Bears senior Edie Statham said Monday. "Sometimes when we could have run more we just chose not to. I think we have the fitness to keep up, it's whether we have the tenacity to do so."

That determination is something that Palmer Ridge (3-1) is thriving on early this season. The Bears graduated 10 seniors – including all-state selection Ashley Walker and her 36 points – off last year's 12-win team that fell 2-0 to Colorado Academy in the title game.

That's a big hit for any team to take, but Palmer Ridge has taken it in stride. After all, the Bears returned two other all-state players in Statham and junior Emily Munn. The team opened the season with three consecutive victories and gave Colorado Academy all it could handle Saturday after losing to the Mustangs three times last fall.

"I thought we did really well against them, especially in the second half," Statham said. "We were able to control the ball a lot more and had more possessions than them. We just need to work on scoring."



While the goals may not have come Saturday, Palmer Ridge has shown balance in that department this season. Ten players have scored, and five have multi-goal games. Sophomore Sydney Chytka owns four goals, and Munn – who scored 10 goals a year ago – has three this season to go along with three assists.

Now the team just has to make sure that success continues in big games.

"I think we need to just work on our rebounds, especially in our short corners," Statham said. "We're able to get short corners and able to get a good shot off, we're just not able to finish that shot off."

Statham is one of just three seniors on the roster. She said the juniors on the team have done a great job of stepping up and helping to shoulder some of that responsibility and leadership.

"Last year we knew we were going to be losing a lot of older kids, so we just sort of watched them," Munn said. "We followed in their footsteps because we knew we had some good shoes to fill. This year we know what to do because we had so many seniors and we were all great friends. We're just a family."

Palmer Ridge starts league play Thursday against Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs), and there is another rematch looming with Colorado Academy in the regular-season finale.



Having advanced to the state title game in two of the previous three seasons, Lewis said confidence and experience are two big aspects the Bears have working in their favor – especially for the returning players who took the field last October.

"Just being there is a big thing. Sometimes it's just getting through that and having been there and having that confidence already built up," Lewis said. "They're not going to look at this as a tough team, this is just another team they're playing."

"As the season goes on, we'll learn," Munn added. "The only thing you can do is improve, and that's true for any team."