Junior forward Zoe Silver was responsible for the biggest moment in years for Boulder’s girls soccer team Tuesday night. But she’s the first to direct the spotlight off herself and onto her teammates.

Her 31st-minute goal stood up in the Class 5A state tournament opening round as the No. 9 Panthers beat No. 24 Horizon, 1-0, for the program’s first postseason win in seven years.

Set up near the top corner of the box by the classification’s freshman points leader, Kiri Fogarty-Sears, Silver’s right-footed blast to the far top corner of the net was so picturesque in spite of the sad, gray skies above Christian Recht Field, it might as well have been hand-placed.

Asked afterward if she knew it was good off contact, she cracked a smile and said she was just glad she wasn’t offside.

“I have a habit of being offsides,” Silver said, which got a quick chuckle and hug from Fogarty-Sears. “But I was pretty confident in front of the net, so I was glad it went in. But it was all from a great pass from Kiri.”

Silver refused to take the moment for herself. And that’s fitting for a team that believes it’s fueled by its closeness on the field and off, then has proven as much amid the program’s best season since — well, since anyone can remember.

“I have been on no other team like this,” senior goalkeeper Maisie Creamer said. “We’re so close-knit and we’re such a family. These girls are people I’ll continue to stay in touch with for the rest of my life. And that helps us so much on the field because we trust each other so much. We can connect passes because we connect off the field. And that’s what makes us such a great team.”

Silver’s winner was her third goal in five games and her 11th of the season, only behind Fogarty-Sears, who has 15 and assisted on it for her 37th point of the year.

Creamer, sure-handed even on the rain-soaked turf field, sealed up her 11th shutout in 16 appearances as she soared into the air to corral a dangerous corner kick in the final 40 seconds.

Next up for Boulder? The Panthers (13-1-2) will have to wait and see.

With the first-round game between No. 8 Valor Christian and No. 25 Chaparral getting moved back a day due to weather, they didn’t know whether they’d be at Valor Christian in Highlands Ranch or at home against the Wolverines until late Wednesday night.

“We know who we are, and we’re good enough to beat anyone,” Fogarty-Sears said. “If we control our own game, and if we focus on ourselves, I think we’re good enough to compete and be with anyone in the state.”

The Panthers followed up a dominating first season in the 5A/4A Rocky Mountain League, where they outscored opponents 34-0 to take the inaugural league crown, they further added to their recent success against former Front Range League-mate Horizon.

After beating the Hawks (9-5-2) by an identical score March 11, they won their eighth straight over them dating back to 2018. It closed out a strong first round for local 5A teams, who went 4-1 on Tuesday.

• Elsewhere, No. 10 Broomfield beat No. 23 ThunderRidge, 2-1, on sophomore Marin Kotschau’s overtime winner.

• Haylee Pletcher had a goal and assist in No. 13 Legacy’s 2-0 win over No. 20 Denver East, while Anaya Bursey added her 36th point of the season — one back of Fogarty-Sears for the 5A freshman lead.

• No. 17 Fairview scored two quick goals in the second half to rally past No. 16 Regis Jesuit.

• No. 18 Erie was eliminated at No. 15 Northfield, capping off coach Laura Munnelly’s first season with the program.

A Valor Christian win Wednesday would put all four remaining BoCoPreps teams on the road for Friday’s second round, with Fairview at No. 1 Mountain Vista, Legacy at No. 4 Ralston Valley and Broomfield at No. 7 Rock Canyon.