PARKER • Ponderosa dominated possession and controlled the flow of Tuesday night’s Class 5A first round girls’ soccer game against Coronado.

The 11th-seeded Mustangs had more shots, more corner kicks and far more quality scoring chances than the 22nd-seeded Cougars.

But the Cougars had Kelly Schroeder.

In 80 minutes of regulation and two 15-minute overtime periods played in driving rain, the senior goalie dove, sprawled and punched her way to 18 saves. She then made a key stop in the penalty kick session to lift Coronado to a 2-1 (3-1 in penalty kicks) victory on a chilly night at Burt.com Stadium.

“They were shoving the ball down our throats, on and on and on,” said junior midfielder Kaeli Vandersluis, who scored the Cougars’ lone goal in regulation off a free kick. “And Kelly really kept strong. … She played so amazing, and it was just great to have her back there.”

In the penalty kick session, junior Catherine Ruder, senior Emily Martin and Vandersluis converted their attempts to send the Cougars (11-4-1) to the second round. They’ll play at No. 6 seed Mountain Vista — a 3-0 victor Tuesday over No. 27 Palmer — on Friday. It’s the first time Coronado has gotten out of the first round in at least 20 years — and perhaps longer — according to athletic director Dave Howard.

Schroeder originally was Coronado’s sweeper but moved to goalie midway through the season because of an injury to the Cougars’ starter. Schroeder hadn’t played goalie, she said, since she was about 12 years old. But it didn’t seem that way Tuesday as she stopped several point-blank shots and disrupted multiple breakaway opportunities in a virtuoso performance.

“Kelly’s really athletic and just works hard and she’s a great leader,” Coronado coach Jenn Ury said. “So it was a good fit.”

Ponderosa scored midway through the first half, but Coronado got a break about 10 minutes before halftime when Ponderosa goalie McKenzi Whittington was called for stepping out of the box with the ball. Vandersluis took the ensuing free kick and drilled a shot into the top right-hand corner of the net.

Schroeder took over after that.

“I really trusted my defense,” she said. “And we just had an awesome game today.”

Dawson defender Christiana Shams, left, collided with Discovery Canyon forward Andi Marchant while chasing after the ball in the first round of the 3A girls soccer playoffs at District 20 Stadium. Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE