FM wins league, headed to state
State tournament bracket will be posted on www.chsaanow.com
The Fort Morgan boys soccer team knew exactly what it needed to do to close out the regular season.
If the Mustangs wanted any chance of winning their Class 4A/3A Longs Peak League, they needed to be flawless. After all, Northridge (7-1-1), Riverdale Ridge (7-2) and Niwot (7-2) were right on their tails.
The Mustangs did just that as they defeated each of their last three opponents and finished 7-1-1 in league play and 13-1-1 overall.
Their only two setbacks came at the hands of Riverdale Ridge with a 1-0 finish and against Northridge, a game which ended in a 0-0 tie.
With this record, they punched their ticket to the Class 4A State Boys Soccer Tournament while teetering just on the edge of CHSAANow.com’s top-10 rankings at No. 11.
According to CHSAA’s soccer bulletin, “Leagues with three to six teams will have one automatic qualifier advancing to the State Tournament bracket; Leagues with seven or more teams will have two automatic qualifiers advancing to the State Tournament bracket.”
Luckily for Fort Morgan and Northridge, who both finished 7-1-1, the Longs Peak League houses well over the seven teams required to send two teams to the postseason.
The Mustangs got the job done by taking down Thompson Valley 2-0, defeating Roosevelt 4-1 and blanking Mountain View 4-0. Ernesto Meza Gamino and Bryan Quinteros scored each of the goals against Thompson Valley. Jovany Rico scored two as Rhonnel Akele and Jose Garcia each added one more against Roosevelt.
Through their first 14 games, the Mustangs have boasted a strong offense that’s put together 58 goals in all. Rico and Meza Gamino have led that charge with 18 and 13 scores, respectively, as Victor Mora has added seven more.
The rest of Colorado’s high school soccer programs have until Saturday to complete their regular seasons. CHSAA planned to meet on Monday, Oct. 25, to discuss and release the brackets for the state tournament. Check www.chsaanow.org to see it.