Colorado Academy essentially has a new field hockey team, with fresh faces stepping in this season in hopes of continuing the Mustangs' winning tradition.

Smoky Hill entered its Friday showdown with the state's top ranking, an undefeated record and a roster that has become a favorite to win the girls state championship.

Yet it was youthful Colorado Academy that showed it, too, could be a state contender in a few weeks, using strong defense in the second half to earn a 3-2 victory at home. It was the sixth consecutive victory for the Mustangs, who had one goal and one assist from Courtney Gallagher and earned the win on a goal by Kelsey Simms with about 20 minutes remaining.

"Nerve-racking, huh?" Mustangs coach Rachel Sparkes said. "Smoky is the team to beat this season. The fact that they were undefeated is huge for us mentally. I'm so proud of the way we played. In the second half, it was anyone's game. It could have gone either way."

Fourth-ranked Colorado Academy (8-3-1, 3-1 league) used a fast start to take a quick two-goal lead, with Jackie Murphy scoring 85 seconds into the contest. The Mustangs took a 2-0 lead when Gallagher scored an unassisted goal about 8 minutes later.

Smoky Hill (9-1-1, 5-1-1 league) rallied to tie the score before halftime. Kellen Morissey put the Buffaloes on the board with a little less than 12 minutes remaining in the first half and Elizabeth Olin tied the score with 15.2 seconds remaining in the frame.

Simms scored the winner with 20:16 remaining in the second half, redirecting a feed from Gallagher past Smoky Hill goalie Lindsay Hinton.

"Basically, I knew (Galla-

gher) was going to hit me the ball," Simms said. "When she did, I kept telling myself, 'Don't swing at it. Don't swing at it.' I received it, and I just pushed it to the goal and, luckily, it went in."

From there, Colorado Academy's defense took over. The Mustangs, who outscored their previous five opponents 15-0, put the clamps down, with defensive stalwarts Sam Rothberg, Jordan Davis and Julia Simmons limiting the Buffaloes' opportunities and goalie Paige Maney making a stellar lead-saving save with about 3 minutes remaining.

"Smoky has been scoring all the time, and even when we scored right at the beginning I knew it was going to be a battle anyway," Sparkes said. "The whole team played well, and Paige did her job back there. She got some great saves. I'm pleased for her, because she did so well and she's getting better and better.

"We're a new team and we're still learning to play together. For us to beat a team like Smoky, it came down to communication and playing together."

Colorado Academy2 1 - 3

Smoky Hill2 0 - 2

Goals - CA, Jackie Murphy (unassisted), 1:25; CA, Courtney Gallagher (unassisted), 9:31; SH, Kellen Morissey (Emily Voss), 18:08; SH, Elizabeth Olin (Natasja Trujillo), 29:45; CA, Kelsey Simms (Gallagher), 39:44.