Chatfield senior Aleah DeGeneres admittedly is in a lot of pain on the soccer field this season, but it was Mullen that felt the deepest hurt Wednesday afternoon.

DeGeneres assisted on the Chargers' first goal as third- ranked Chatfield scored a 3-0 nonleague victory against the eighth-ranked Mustangs in a matchup of Class 5A powers at Mullen High School.

DeGeneres broke the fifth metatarsal in her left foot in November, an injury that required surgery to place a pin there. The injury still bothers her, but it hasn't kept her from playing at a high level this season.

"It's kind of iffy right now. Sometimes it hurts really bad," DeGeneres said. "It always hurts when I play, but it was bearable (Wednesday)."

After receiving an ultrasound Tuesday, DeGeneres started the contest on the bench. It didn't take long for her to make her presence felt, though, once she hit the pitch.

She sent a nice cross that teammate Tori Delmonico knocked into the net to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Delmonico's shot deflected off a Mullen defender but still had enough on it to tally.

"It was kind of an awkward goal, but a goal is a goal," Delmonico said. "I'll take it."

Delmonico, who has seven goals this season, notched her second of the contest, in the 62nd minute, taking a cross from Christine Clark and popping it over the head of the Mustangs keeper for a 2-0 lead.

Stephanie Rowe made it 3-0 in the 70th minute, making a great move deep in Mustangs territory before ripping a shot from just inside the goal box that sneaked inside the far post.

Delmonico said Chatfield (6- 1) had been looking forward to the match since the schedule came out. The Chargers wanted an opportunity for revenge; the Mustangs eliminated them in the quarterfinals last season.

"We wanted this one," Delmonico said. "We know we're going to see them again in the playoffs and they're going to come at us hard, but it was good to get this one."

Mullen (2-3-1), which entered the season ranked No. 1, has lost three of its past four contests. The Mustangs haven't played with a full complement of players during that span, though.

Five players missed time attending a club tournament last week, and All-Colorado junior Danielle Foxhoven missed the match Wednesday because of a family commitment.

Still, Mullen coach Jay McClain wasn't going to use that as an excuse for the loss to Chatfield.

"They played extremely well and scored a couple of great goals," McClain said. "They definitely outworked us in the second half."

Chatfield......1	2	-	3
Mullen......0	0	-	0

Goals — Tori Delmonico (Aleah DeGeneres assist), 27th minute; Delmonico (Christine Clark), 62nd minute; Stephanie Rowe, 70th minute.

Shots on goal — C, 3-5 8; M, 2-2 4. Saves — C, (Alyssa Gillmore 4) 2-2 4; M, (Annie Tooley 2, Christina Palomino 3) 2-3 5. Corner kicks — C, 1-2 3; M, 3-1 4.

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