THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

Laney Laffler found herself in a familiar position early in the second half of Grand Junction's 4-0 girls soccer victory against Central on Saturday evening at Walker Field — she had the ball in a threatening position to the defense. Laffler had already helped the Tigers take an early lead, scoring two goals in the first half, but she wanted that third goal. Central goalkeeper Nikki Madaris wasn't making it easy. Laffler had three shots on net with only Madaris between her and that hat trick, but Madaris slapped them all away. "I was starting to get a little mad because I kept hitting them right to her," Laffler said. "I had to calm myself down and finally find the corners." Laffler took the ball, dribbled around a defender and fired hard into the bottom left corner of the net, earning her second hat trick in the past two games for Grand Junction (10-3-1, 5-2-1 Southwestern League). "It feels really good," Laffler said. "Dolcie (Hanlon) and everyone up top had such good crosses. I was just glad that I could finish them." Grand Junction coach Joe Graham was happy for Laffler and to have his team reaching its peak at the right moment in the season. Grand Junction has only two games remaining, including a home game next Thursday against Fruita Monument, which is undefeated in league play this season. "I feel great about our team," Graham said. "They're a young team. They're all really great friends on and off the field and they really want to work for each other. I think that we still have a few challenging games coming up and we're just going to try to carry the momentum from the last couple games through those." The three goals from Laffler, along with a goal by sophomore Keeli Stephens, were key in beating the Warriors (2-10-1, 0-6 SWL), but Graham said he saw outstanding play up and down the field. He praised the work of defender Tristen Niemeyer for winning balls out of the air, as well as for her speed on defense. Goalkeeper Isa Sanchez, who secured a shutout, was another standout. "Sometimes, it's a lot of pressure," Sanchez said. "Actually no, it's always a lot of pressure, because you think it's you when you get scored on and you can't do anything but blame yourself. It's just a mind over matter. You have to work hard to be confident back there." Much of the Tigers' confidence has come with the help of a large sophomore class, which has been making a positive impact game after game. Laffler, a member of that class, said it's their years of playing together that has led to their success. "We've all played club together for a very long time," Laffler said. "I think once we came on to high school we already had a really good connection and we're starting to form that with our other teammates as well now."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

GRAND JUNCTION 4, CENTRAL 0

DAN WEST

Grand Junction Sentinel | 4/28/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Central Athletics