LAFAYETTE >> Two minutes after taking a cleat to the foot, Dawson’s senior leader, Kanoe Bihag, found herself face down on the ground and crying from a push from behind.

At that point in the Class 2A ninth-ranked Mustangs’ Tuesday home game against No. 2 Denver Christian — midway through the second half — her team already trailed by three goals.

Her exit from the pitch, while short-lived, gave them just the fuel they needed to avoid a shutout in their eventual 3-1 loss to the Thunder.

“It was a pretty bad fall,” she explained. “It was actually my back. It just felt like when I fell, my back just completely tightened and kind of locked up. I went down because me and another player on the other team kind of collided. She stepped on my foot really hard. It was one of those injuries where it just hurts for like a second, and then I’m fine after.”

A mere 42 seconds later, with Bihag on the sideline, junior forward Lily Sullivan punched in the lone Dawson score of the blustery afternoon. Sophomore defender Bella Stewart took a smooth corner kick from freshman forward Evie Zaug, then bobbled it to Sullivan. Sullivan took care of the rest.

“I’m pretty proud of it,” Sullivan said. “Honestly, I think it was good for our team, definitely uplifting. There was definitely that thought of, I kind of want to do this for (Bihag). She’s so tough. She’s kind of been here for the entire team throughout the year.”

Sullivan went on to explain the type of chemistry that has come to define this Dawson squad, saying, “We’re all super bonded. We can all communicate really well. We give each other feedback, and we actually take that feedback and then play off of it. We’re a super-tight team. I can lean on every single one of these teammates.”Luckily for the Mustangs, nothing could keep Bihag down for long. Not during a game of that magnitude, one that could decide where they end up in the 2A state playoffs. They’ll end their regular season Friday, then await CHSAA’s bracket, which is set to be released early next week.

Bihag was all smiles after she took her bruises from the Thunder, who played quite the physical game against the Mustangs. Dawson’s sophomore keeper, Zephyra Simitzis, played a key role stanching the proverbial defensive bleeding with save after spectacular save — and with no regard to any bruises she herself may have incurred.

“I love playing Denver Christian,” Bihag said. “I’ve been playing half of those girls since my freshman year, so they know me, I know them. It’s always fun having competition.”

The competition that the Mustangs have been experiencing lately has been anything but forgiving. They made the trip up to No. 5 Loveland Classical on Friday, only to leave with a 6-0 loss and an end to a six-game winning streak.

Tuesday’s setback to the Thunder dropped them to 8-3-1, but they have two contests remaining to right the ship a bit before selection Sunday.

They’ll first host Clear Creek on Thursday before making the trip to No. 12 Front Range Christian on Friday.

“We’ve got Thursday, I’d say, a winnable game where we can work a little bit on some of the things that I thought we need to improve on,” head coach John Welsch said. “And then Friday will be another important game to kind of decide where we’ll end up in the playoffs. It’s the time of the year and it’s exciting, and I hope the kids are excited as well.”