Littleton – Mindy Daines made sure Mountain Vista broke out of its slump in style Thursday.
The Mountain Vista midfielder finished off a textbook counterattack with two minutes remaining in the second overtime as the Golden Eagles stunned fifth-ranked Heritage 1-0 in a Class 5A Continental League girls soccer game at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
The victory snapped Mountain Vista’s two-game winless streak and was arguably the biggest upset in the fledgling program’s existence, which is playing its first season in 5A.
“We’ve had some serious bad luck in the last week,” Mountain Vista coach Theresa Echtermeyer said. “So let me tell you, it’s nice to win a game.”
Each team advanced to the state semifinals last season in their respective classifications.
Both teams appeared hesitant to grab the victory Thursday before the Golden Eagles, from Highlands Ranch, won it in a flurry.
With Heritage pressing the attack, Mountain Vista ran the ball straight up the field, catching the Eagles in transition. Karter Haug sent a ball over the top to forward Brooke Lamphere, who one-timed a pass to an in-stride Daines to finish.
“I actually did not think ‘shot’ at all,” Lamphere said. “It was so awesome. It was just fun.”
Daines couldn’t recall any thoughts from the moment, but she thumped a shot to the upper corner that beat Heritage goalie Mallory George.
“It was just there, and I hit it,” Daines said.
Mountain Vista (10-3-1, 7-2-1 in league) recorded its seventh shutout of the season. Goalie Erin Wallace made four saves, three in the second half, as Mountain Vista was able to pin down Heritage for long stretches.
Wallace’s best save came in the 65th minute, when she made a diving stretch to contain a long shot fired in by midfielder Dana McGlone.
“It was her best game of the season,” Echtermeyer said of Wallace.
For Heritage (9-4, 7-2), the loss was its second in three games and shattered any outside hopes of the Eagles catching league-leading Arapahoe.
“The goal they scored on was not symptomatic of the game,” Heritage coach Tony Hurt said. “It wasn’t like we played poorly and we had it coming.”
Hurt said his team has “snuck by” some opponents this season and hoped the stinging defeat would serve as a wake-up call.
Mountain Vista 0 0 0 1 – 1
Heritage 0 0 0 0 – 0
Goal – Daines (Lamphere), 88th minute.
Shots on goal – Mountain Vista 1-2-0-1-4; Heritage 1-3-0-0-4. Saves – Mountain Vista (Wallace) 1-3-0-0-4; Heritage (George) 1-2-0-0-3. Corner kicks – Mountain Vista 1-0-0-1-2; Heritage 1-2-3-0-6. Fouls – Mountain Vista 2-3-0-0-5; Heritage 1-3-0-0-4.
