LONGMONT - Everything considered, Wednesday wasn't such a bad day for the Greeley West girls soccer team.

On paper, the Spartans had little to offer in their 3-0 quarterfinal loss to Silver Creek in the Class 4A playoffs.

In the long run though, Greeley West was quick to turn the page. Especially when you consider:

-- Silver Creek's No. 1 seed is legitimate - the Raptors have yet to lose at 17-0-1, while Greeley West ends its season at 9-6-3.

-- Four Silver Creek players have signed to play college soccer at the Division I level, and it fields a relatively veteran lineup. Greeley West starts eight sophomores.

-- Silver Creek goalkeeper Lauren Wolfinger is considered the best in the state at her position, and the Raptors' defense played as deliberate as the offense.

"They're good, they defend the ball and they deserve credit," Greeley West sophomore Lauren Sinnwell said.

The Raptors were the beneficiary of a late first-half goal as sophomore C.C. Reinhart put just enough foot on the ball to squeeze it past Greeley West sophomore goalkeeper Jenna Droegemueller.

"The ball was slippery," said Droegemueller, who piled up eight saves. "It's like a swamp in there. The footing in goal isn't very good."

The Spartans never could get a foot up on Silver Creek, even when attempting to clear the ball.

"They're skilled, and they're very aggressive," Spartans coach Mike Lordemann said. "They've played with about the same lineup for four years.

"The goal right before the half really hurt," Lordemann added, explaining that the longer the score was 0-0, the better his team's chances were to pull off an upset.

The Spartans took just six shots - all by sophomore Jamie Kurtz - and only two were on goal.

Late in the first half, the Raptors fired six shots on goal in a 4-minute span and made it clear at the defensive end they weren't going to give an inch to Greeley West's Danielle Saucedo.

"When we played them the first time this season, we outshot them 26-2, so we knew it was a matter of making sure we had better shots," Silver Creek coach Merv Johnson said. "Greeley West is a very disciplined team, and after we scored the first goal, we knew they would have to attack more."

The Spartans' attack was barely enough to keep Wolfinger busy. She only had to defend two shots on goal, both in the second half.

Silver Creek doubled its lead on a penalty kick by senior Erin Gunther at the 55-minute mark.

"That made the mountain that we had to climb really huge," Lordemann said. "Honestly, we knew that our chances of scoring three goals against them were pretty slim."

Silver Creek has surrendered just five goals all season.

"They just kept pressuring us, and we just didn't get it done," Saucedo said.

Reinhart scored the Raptors' final goal at the 65:11 mark by sitting in front of the net then rebounding a carom off the legs of West's Kayla Schaffer and Lauren Horst.

"On my first goal, I really didn't think the ball was going to go in, but on the last one, it landed right at my feet and I couldn't have asked for anything better," Reinhart said.

Greeley West . . . . 0 . . . . 0 – 0

Silver Creek . . . . 1 . . . . 2 – 3

Scoring: Reinhart (Assist: Kate Russell), 34:00; Erin Gunther, 55:00. Reinhart (Assist: Russell), 65:11.

Shots on goal: GW, 2. SC, 20.

Corner kicks: GW, 4. SC, 6.

Saves: GW, 8 (Jenna Droegemueller); SC, 2 (Lauren Wolfinger).

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