Four years into the job, Carlos Real believed he had the right pieces in place to lead Boulder to the kind of success it hadn’t seen for so long in girls soccer. The freshmen he started with in 2017 were now seniors, and the hope then was they’d lead from within and direct a culture of joy and hard work he’d been building from the start.

The pandemic foiled things. The 2020 spring campaign was canceled. And the ‘21 season wasn’t much better, as restrictions in place to stop the spread of the virus also prohibited the kind of things that translate into success in team sports: Time spent together, closeness with one another, etc.

Another four years have passed. Real has again shaped the kind of group he believes can do something no Boulder girls team has on the pitch in recent memory. Last year was promising — the program ended a playoff drought that dated back to 2019. However, both he and his players are optimistic that it could expand into something better in 2025, where the team’s combination of seasoned veterans and talented newcomers has them brimming with confidence.

On Tuesday night at Christian Recht Field, the Panthers were dominant in a 6-0 win over a longstanding successful program in Silver Creek.

Their start — at 5-0-1 — though still early, hasn’t gone unnoticed. National preps outlet MaxPreps currently has Boulder girls soccer ranked No. 2 in Colorado and 87th in the nation. Real smiles (perhaps while gritting his teeth) when asked about it.

“We’re a third into the season,” he laughed. “We haven’t won anything. We’ve won a few games, and close and important ones like Fairview. I’m going to be worried about rankings probably the day before they put them out for playoffs. From here until then, everything changes, everything fluctuates.”

The message has stayed on point.

With Real’s players sitting around him at intermission Tuesday, Real urged simplicity while rebuking some of the hero ball his team showed in the opening half against the Raptors (4-3). Whether it was doing too much, or leaning heavily on the dazzling read over the right one, his critique wasn’t meant for a nonconference game in April, but for what lies ahead.

Over the final 40 minutes, the coach agreed that his team played with more composure. The touches were concise, and the offensive rhythm cohesive, as a 2-0 lead swelled.

By the end of the night, freshman Kiri Fogarty-Sears and senior Mia DeJohn sat atop the box score with two goals apiece. DeJohn, a longtime star inside the program, is committed to San Diego State. She stands about a half-foot shorter than Fogarty-Sears, who leads the team with four goals this season. Perfect balance, they say.

DeJohn looked over to the freshman with a grin. “Our locker room vibe is the best I’ve ever seen. We dance before our games. It’s about having fun.”

And it’s much more than just soccer.

As another example of their team bond, Real said his players came up with the idea of exchanging letters with a different teammate before every game. The messages ooze anywhere from the sappy to the silly.

“I watched all these girls growing up,” Fogarty-Sears said. “Being on the field with them under the lights, with our friends watching, is so fun. I look forward to it all week. They’re such a welcoming group. From the moment I came, everyone is there for each other, everyone will fight for each other. And you want to work for them.”

Happy, happy times.

Now, for a more sobering outlook: Over the next 10 days, the Panthers will embark on likely their toughest stretch of the regular season. They’ll face undefeated Ralston Valley, MaxPreps’ Colorado No. 1 Castle View, then longtime rival Broomfield — who it hasn’t beaten in years (0-11 since 2013). They start at Ralston Valley (5-0) on Thursday.