All in the family - Daily Camera

PREP GIRLS SOCCER HONORS

All in the family

Broomfield’s Marin Kotschau is the Daily Camera player of the year

Marin Kotschau was a Class 5A all-state first team selection in leading the Eagles to the state semifinals this past spring. CLIFF GRASSMICK — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Broomfield’s Marin Kotschau, left, takes a shot against Rock Canyon in the second round of the Class 5A girls soccer playoffs on May 9. BRENT W. NEW — BOCOPREPS.COM

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By Brent W. New

bwnew@prairiemountainmedia.com

Before their national soccer team call-ups, before their high school player of the year campaigns, Marin and Reagan Kotschau’s love for the game grew along with the grass in the backyard of their Thornton home.

“We’d set up a 9-by-9-(foot) soccer goal,” Marin said. “And I’d play in goal, and she’d always score on me. Then we’d switch.”

Marin, the sophomore who helped spirit Broomfield all the way to the Class 5A state semifinals in legendary coach Jim Davidson’s final season ahead of the program this past spring, is the Daily Camera player of the year. She praised her older sister Reagan, who won the same honor in her final season at Broomfield two years ago, for much of her growth as a player.

“We are four years apart, so when I was younger, I was always trying to catch up to her and be as good as her. And that made me better,” said Marin, who in April missed two games with the Eagles after being called up to play with the USA women’s under-age 16 team in Spain. It came two weeks after Reagan got the chance to play with the Americans’ U20 team.

“And now as we’ve gotten older,” Marin added, “we’re able to play together and train. And we just push each other and we want each other to be better.”As a midfielder, Marin was named to CHSAA’s 5A all-state first team after having 11 goals and five assists in the spring.

Her best moments probably came in the clutch.

In April, she scored the lone goal for the Eagles in their win over Boulder, when the Panthers were ranked No. 1 in the state by both CHSAA and MaxPreps.

Then in May, she had two late goals in a 2-1 win over Erie, giving Broomfield the Front Range League crown. Five days later, her overtime winner sent the Eagles past ThunderRidge and out of the opening round of the postseason.

“There’s something in the DNA of that family,” cracked Davidson.

It’s hard to believe otherwise. The sisters’ father Ritchie and mother Meredith both played at George Mason University. Ritchie then had a successful, decade-long stint in Major League Soccer. He was also named to the U.S. National Team in 2005.

“I think what’s really interesting about the two sisters is they each have a different persona, just who they are with their personality off the field,” Davidson continued.

“But I’d argue that they’re very alike as players on the field. They have an incredible focus and sense of concentration that is just rare at the high school level.”

In Marin, Davidson called her the team’s driving force late in the season. The Eagles finally bowed out to Castle View, in penalties, one game ahead of the finals.

“Marin had such a great run when she got back from Spain with the national team,” Davidson said.

“I remember the Erie game specifically really changed a lot for us. We were really tired right after the Legacy (1-0 win), so it was always going to be a grind. We weren’t really good that day but the girls refused to quit. And Marin put us on her back in the last six minutes of that game and she went and scored two incredible goals. And I really felt that was the moment where I thought, maybe we were going to be able to go on a run.”