By Dennis Pleuss
LAKEWOOD — It was a perfect ending for nearly a perfect day for Grandview junior Nicole Lyubenko.
The same day that Lyubenko received her Class 5A girls soccer state championship ring, the midfielder closed out the night with a rocket shot that found the back of the net during the second half of the 2015 All-State girls soccer game at Lakewood Memorial Field.
Lyubenko was the Wolves’ leading goal scorer as a sophomore this past spring on the way at the 5A state title for Grandview. She closed the season Wednesday night on the victorious North squad that scored three goals in the span of 14 minutes in the second half to pull out a 3-1 victory.
“Honestly it’s just still so surreal for me. It still hasn’t hit me. I still don’t feel like a state champion,” Lyubenko said. “We’ll go back in next season and try to get a second one.”
Lyubenko’s goal in the 70th minute Wednesday gave the North a 3-0 cushion over the South in the game put on by the Colorado High School Soccer Coaches Association.
“It was a perfect touch by Kristin (Barbour). I was really lucky,” said Lyubenko, who had a couple of scoring chances earlier in the game. “I just struck it and it went in.”
After a scoreless opening half, Steamboat Springs senior Natalie Bohlmann buried a pair of goals in the 56th and 59th minutes to give the North a 2-0 lead.
“It was awesome. It was a great experience,” Bohlmann said. “It was great to have fun with all these other girls.”
The South was able to prevent the shutout when Pine Creek senior Reece Hummel scored on a penalty kick in the 71st minute to cut the lead to 3-1. However, the North’s scoring outburst in the second half was enough to get the victory.
“We settled down a lot in the second half. We were all connected and knew each other a little more,” Lyubenko said. “It’s hard to play with players that you don’t play with all year long. We settled down and got the job done.”