Josh Carney / Post Independent
The 2019 season may have come to a sudden and disappointing end on Saturday in Colorado Springs for the Glenwood Springs Demons girls soccer team, but the Demons received some great news on Monday morning as standout senior midfielder Sarah Helm was named the 4A Western Slope League’s Co-Player of the Year, while a total of four Glenwood players landed on the league’s All-Conference first team, leading the league by one.
Along with Helm on the first team, senior centerback Leigh Anne Johnson, freshman forward Ella Johnson, and sophomore goalkeeper Abby Scruton landed on the vaunted first team.
Helm earned a share of the league’s player of the year award with Battle Mountain defender Claire Krueger. Helm scored nine goals and added three assists from Glenwood from midfield, providing the Demons with a suffocating defender that tracked players all over the field. Krueger scored four goals and added two assists as part of the league’s top defense that allowed just two goals all season in league play – both of which were scored by Glenwood in the final game of the year.
Leigh Anne Johnson scored one goal and dished out one assist for Glenwood in her senior season, providing the Demons with a steadying presence on the back line all season long, helping Glenwood allow on average under one goal a game. Ella Johnson was a freshman sensation on the attack for the Demons, pouring in 10 goals and eight assists in her fist season at the varsity level. Both marks were good for second on the team’s stats sheet. Scruton took over full-time duties in net this season and provided the Demons with a needed spark in net. The physical, athletic sophomore allowed just 15 goals in 16 games on the year, adding a big leg on the back half to boot the ball away.
Glenwood senior Ashley Weir was surprisingly the only Demon to earn all-conference honor mention accolades. Weir scored one goal and assisted on one other for the Demons, giving Glenwood a speedy, forward-thinking fullback that consistently pushed the play forward with speed and precise passing throughout the season.
The Demons finished second in the league standings with a 9-2-1 mark in 4A WSL play, while finishing 11-5-1 overall. Glenwood entered the 2019 state playoffs as a No. 23 seed and went on the road to Monument in the first round and upset No. 10 Palmer Ridge 3-2 in double overtime on a free-kick strike from Helm. Glenwood then fell in the second round to No. 7 Sand Creek 3-2 in Colorado Springs.
Rifle sophomore goalkeeper Emily Vines earned all-conference honorable mention accolades for the Bears.
