It was senior night for Palmer’s girls soccer team on Thursday night, but it was two seniors from visiting Coronado who showcased why they are special. 

Coronado rode a six-game unbeaten run into Garry Berry Stadium to face District 11 foe Palmer, which also hadn’t lost in its last six games, and came out victorious. Senior Emma Hylton’s penalty kick in the 65th minute was the deciding moment in the 1-0 contest.   

The Cougars (7-2-4) were awarded the penalty off a Palmer handball in the box. Hylton converted the opportunity for her fourth goal of the season, which ties the team lead. 

Not bad for a player who is usually a center back. 

“I’m really grateful to get the opportunity to play forward. I absolutely love it,” she said. “Just being able to go up and connect and find opportunities to go to goal and stuff, I just love it. Usually, I’m in the back and I play a lot of center back. I just love going into tackles and just knowing that if I mess up and my team’s right there, they have my back no matter what.”

Hytlon and the rest of the Cougars needed senior goalkeeper Kallea Cote to have their backs in the final 15 minutes of the contest. Palmer scrambled to find an equalizer, pressing Coronado’s back line often and creating scoring opportunities in the attacking half. 

Cote made a game-saving deflection on a big strike from Palmer around the 70th minute and made another save in the 77th to help the Cougars seal the win and claim their first victory in Colorado Springs Metro League South play. 

After the final whistle, Hylton sprinted over to Cote and gave her a huge hug.

The two have faced similar challenges this season. Cote is also playing a position outside of the norm after an injury forced her into the team’s starting keeper role. 

“I went up to her, and I was cheering her on because that was an insane save,” Hylton said of the teammates’ embrace following the match. “She actually plays center back and she’s taken on goalie this entire season for us because our actual goalie broke her jaw in our (fourth game). It was a lot of emotion.”

Being supportive of the team is a key value of Coronado’s program, coach Kyle Yeh said.

“It’s a blessing as a coach to have players who will play wherever you ask them to and try new things and try new formations and hop right in,” he said. “There were a lot of girls who were playing in different positions tonight and switching things up, trying to find the right chemistry, find the right configuration to get results. As a coach, it’s awesome to have players who will say, ‘Yup, I’ll do what it takes, whatever for the team.’”

Coronado employed a team effort to earn the victory on Thursday. The visitors were particularly gritty in the midfield, making it difficult for Palmer to enter the attacking half. For most of the match, when the Terrors would gain possession in their half, they’d face a stiff challenge from a Coronado player. 

The effort earned junior Cari Powell the team’s Cougar Compass on Thursday. The compass is given to the player who most exemplifies the team’s values in matches, showing the direction Coroando should go.  

For Hylton, Coronado’s program in itself is something of a compass. She went from novice to a leader who will continue her career at McPherson College. 

“I really found my home at Coronado,” she said. “At the beginning of my freshman year, I didn’t really know how to play too much soccer, but now that I’m a senior, I’m actually committed to a college and it’s just so incredible what they’ve done and what the team’s done and how I feel so comfortable and reliant on my team.“