BAYFIELD
A CHSAA Class 3A girls soccer state playoffs wildcard berth may have been decided Thursday at Wolverine Country Stadium.
Bayfield High School secured a 1-0 win over Salida in a nonleague matchup that was a full season in the making.
The teams were supposed to play to open the season against each other March 7, but snow had other ideas.
When the Wolverines and Spartans finally did play, a moment of junior brilliance made the difference on Bayfield’s senior day.
BHS forward Maddy Duran tucked a rocket into the top left corner, shooting from 15 yards outside of the 18-yard box on the right side.
Salida goalkeeper Ainsley Bright never stood a chance to stop it.
“Sometimes she gets a little crazy from way out here, but she can hit that ball,” BHS head coach Jen Zelinski said with stitches in her upper lip from an errant gym class disc golf throw. “She’s out here every day on her own practicing those shots just like that, and it came through for her.”
Duran came through for the Wolverines after Salida (9-4-1) couldn’t capitalize on its own early chances.
Salida’s Gianna Giorno missed a 38th minute penalty kick high over the bar.
“I was personally responsible for that penalty kick, so it was extremely, extremely stressful,” said BHS senior defender Meaghan Mooney, daughter of Don and Paula Mooney. “You have to keep a positive attitude, and the ball kind of has a way of figuring itself out.”
Kaitlyn Moltz also hit the post for Salida shortly before halftime.
The Spartans let 14 shots fly and put five of them on frame.
“We had our chances,” Salida head coach Todd Bright said. “I think any of them go in, it’s a different game.”
BHS keeper Kailee Millard made five saves and kept out several blasts.
It was the most active game in weeks for the BHS sophomore that hasn’t faced many shots in league play.
“To see her make those big saves is confidence for the whole team and gets the team fired up,” Zelinski said. “She doesn’t get challenged a whole lot in our league, so its good to see that, even without that competition, she can still perform under pressure.”
The pressure of a game and the pressure of a playoff race.
BHS (10-3) is ranked No. 11 by Maxpreps.com, which CHSAA uses as part of its selection formula for the playoffs.
Since the Wolverines didn’t win their league, the only way into the postseason for them is as an at-large bid.
“Playing nonleague games helps us, so I think we’re all really hoping for that wildcard,” said BHS senior Andrea Zelinski, daughter of Sherry Zelinski. “But we still have one more game we need to win.”
The Wolverines close out the regular season at 11 a.m. Friday against Center in Bayfield.
After that, it’s out of their hands.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
