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It was a Pizza Hut birthday party. Kelly Labor's face turns red as teammate Ann Barney tells the story Thursday afternoon.

Labor tries to cover Barney's mouth, but Barney pushes her hand away, telling Labor not to be embarrassed because everyone had soccer parties when they were young.

"Kelly wouldn't let us eat the cake with our hands," Barney said between laughs.

Soccer has been an integral part of the lives of the eight girls on this year's Steamboat Springs team. Some started playing club soccer when they were 6 years old. Some joined the club team when they were 8 or 9.

Senior Kirsten Ryan moved from California before her freshman year, but she might as well have grown up here.

"I feel like I know all the stories," Ryan said.

The crew

Even as elementary school girls, playing soccer in oversized shirts with smiles bigger than their faces, the seniors on this year's Steamboat Springs soccer team were different.

Labor, Barney, Haley Gallagher, Jessy Dover, Jessica Peters and Casey Garth were the initial core. Kathleen Lyon and Ryan round out the group.

"We were such a crew," Labor said.

"We're still a crew," Gallagher added.

Rick Garth, Casey's father, was the girls' club coach for nearly eight years.

"They had a very high competitive streak and work rate when they were younger," he said "In a lot of ways, one of the things that sets them apart is that they had a very strong group of parents behind them all the way.

"I remember the summer before their eighth-grade year, they played two tournaments in Colorado, one in Salt Lake and one in Minneapolis. It takes parent commitment and support to make those things happen. The kids deserve the credit, but the parents might deserve some."

The Minnesota tournament is one of Labor's fondest memories growing up. Not only have the girls been teammates for most of their lives, but they also have remained close friends through the years.

On Thursday, the girls played their final regular season game. During halftime of Steamboat's 5-1 win against Delta, the seniors and their parents were recognized, while assistant coach Danny Tebbenkamp filmed everything.

The younger varsity players gave the seniors flowers and presents and made a banner thanking the seniors.

"I can't believe it's over," Gallagher said.

The record

"Rick Garth told me before our freshman year there was no reason for us to lose a league game in high school,"

Labor said.

For three years, the Sailors were perfect in Western Slope League play. Few teams were even close, as the Sailors racked up goals -- and wins -- with superior strategy and superior talent.

On March 18, Steamboat and Battle Mountain played to a 1-1 tie. It snapped a 38-game win streak. In the rematch April 18, the Sailors defeated the Huskies, 5-2, playing arguably their best first half of soccer in four years. The win positioned Steamboat to claim its fourth straight league championship.

Huskies coach David Cope said Steamboat's seniors changed soccer on the Western Slope, joking that it's about time the girls -- most of whom started as freshmen -- graduate.

"They are fiercely competitive," he said. "I think that's something the rest of the league has been able to take from them, the ferocity with which they play. I think there are different qualities in each of them.

"As a group, they came in and took over that team that first year. They have been able to grow together as a group. That's been really impressive."

Glenwood Springs upset Steamboat, 3-2, on May 2, ending the Sailors' bid to go unbeaten in league play. The Demons nearly defeated the Sailors when the seniors were freshmen. "It was grounding," Gallagher said.

Barney said no one talked about the winning streak until the beginning of the 2006 season. They are done talking about it now. While in high school, the seniors went 50-1-1 in league play, which is impressive enough.

"If someone would have told us we would win 50 league games we would have been, like, 'no way.'" Labor said.

Not over yet

Today, the Colorado High School Activities Association's seeding committee releases its first-round pairings for the Class 4A soccer playoffs. The Sailors have a good chance to host a first-round game, though the loss to the Demons casts some doubt.

Steamboat, if it plays like it did in its second game against Battle Mountain, has a chance to advance deep into the postseason, regardless of its seed.

If they play poorly like they did against the Demons, the Sailors will be vulnerable early.

From their first championship in the 1998 Pepsi Cup -- some girls still wear the shirts from the tournament -- to this week, the seniors have left an impression with Steamboat's soccer community. But the current players are quick to point out that they didn't win alone. The girls before and after are just as much a part of the wins as they are.

"In big cities like Denver the main event for soccer players, particularly for good ones, is their club team," Rick Garth said. "Here, soccer at the high school level is the ultimate experience ... When they were 10, it seems like it is going to last forever. I think they see the end in sight."