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Steamboat Springs — The girls on the Steamboat Springs soccer team found the cure for the scoring funk that was ailing them with extra doses of offense Thursday afternoon, cruising to a 5-0 victory against Delta.

"I think that after our last game (a tie Saturday with Palisade), we knew we needed to step it up," Steamboat senior Abbey Lewis said. "We went out and gave it our all before spring break."

It didn't take long for Steamboat to make its effort felt. Five minutes into the game, Carly Earp found Lauren Letson on the right side. Letson chased down and buried the ball on the far side to put the Sailors up, 1-0.

Steamboat shut down any and all of Delta's offense, not giving up a single shot on goal in the first half, anchored in the backfield by Betty Sasak and Amanda Tegtmeier. From the midfield, Steamboat frequently generated shot opportunities from balls played directly up the field at the Delta defense.

"Last night, we really worked on our 1-2 passing, looking to the center before the flanks," Miranda Schrock said.

Delta goalkeeper Tanesha Smith, who finished the game with eight saves, made a couple of risky choices to come out on Steamboat breakaways that ended with big saves on her part.

But Smith's luck did not last. With five minutes to go in the first half, Schrock sent a perfect through ball to Lewis, who dribbled around a pair of Delta fullbacks atop the goal box and passed to Mandi DeVos, who put the Sailors up by two.

On Steamboat's ensuing possession, Lewis passed to Letson, streaking on the right side. Letson lofted a high cross at the goal and when the ball was too hot for Smith to handle, it bobbled in for the Sailors' third goal before the half.

"The speed of the game was the big difference that hampered us," Delta coach Julie Mottern said. "We just got spun around on this turf. Our first touch was not that good, and dealing with a team that's cleaner and faster, the girls were seeing and anticipating the game ten times slower : we lost our confidence, but started regaining some in the second half and getting some possessions, but it was too late."

Schrock thought intangible elements contributed to Steamboat's solid play compared to the teams' March 31 meeting, when Steamboat only managed a 1-0 win.

"Last time, we went in expecting the wrong things and they caught us off guard," said Schrock, who added a goal and an assist - another through ball to sharp-shooting Lewis - in the second half. "Today, we had more passion and came in confident after our last practice."

Shannon King made a save on Delta's one scoring opportunity to seal the shutout win.

"That's more the standard we're looking for - sharp, one-touch soccer with great combination play," Steamboat coach Rob Bohlmann said, pleased to see the team clinch a postseason berth.

Steamboat plays its last league game May 1 in Glenwood Springs and returns to Gardner Field on May 4 for its final regular season game against Thomas Jefferson.

- To reach Dave Shively, call 871-4253

or e-mail dshively@steamboatpilot.com