Cooler heads prevail.

Harrison and Sierra are rivals — no ifs, ands or buts about it. Panther coach Katy Goodson knew how much it meant to her team, but she made sure to preach calmness in the storm, which her team provided in a 5-0 win over the Stallions Tuesday.

Sophomore Tyara Vazquez poured in a hat trick to do her part as a captain, while fellow sophomore Lelani Cejudo Hernandez and senior Navaeh Valenzuela added a goal apiece.

“They haven’t played a home game in a couple of weeks, so I wanted them to defend their own turf,” Goodson said. “We have three games this week and we wanted to keep our momentum going.”

That momentum has now taken the shape of a 4-1 start for Harrison. More importantly, the Panthers are now 2-0 against rivals, including Tuesday’s win and an earlier season win over Atlas Prep — the club that started the team’s now three-game win streak.

The pushes and shoves came against the Stallions. Words were thrown and tempers were up, but the family bond the Panthers share is what carried them through.

Sure, families stick up for one another, but they’re also able to cool each other down and focus on the win, rather than outside-the-rules confrontation.

For the first 20 minutes, both teams needed a rhythm. Hernandez broke the opening tie from her spot on the right-wing.

She was one of three Panthers coming in to have multiple goals already. In the final 13 minutes of the opening half, they added three more to head into the locker room on a high.

“We have so much depth of talent,” Goodson said. “We have it everywhere from the middles to the wings. Off corner kicks, we have height and can be aggressive. For us, it’s just about making sure they get the opportunities and getting to those through balls and receiving passes well.”

The bravado may not have arrived instantly, but the team’s also building confidence. It’s already tied or surpassed its win total for each season going back to 2017. A 4-1 start is the Panthers’ best in over a decade.

“We’ve all worked really hard,” Vazquez said. “Our communication from last year has only gotten better and we’ve grown as players. We just play so well together.”

Matchups with Mitchell and Sand Creek conclude the first month of Harrison’s girls’ soccer season. The blocks are being built to compete against anyone in the league, from Cañon City to Mesa Ridge and every team in-between.

For now, they’ll just soak up another rivalry win. Those are always sweet.

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