Aurora – Mountain Vista began its first Class 5A state championship game in a hole and then pulled some magic out of it.
The upstart Golden Eagles, in their fourth season and first in 5A, gave up an early goal, rallied and then defeated powerhouse Arapahoe 3-0 on penalty kicks Tuesday night after a 1-1 tie through 110 minutes of regulation.
Senior goalie Erin Wallace saved all three Warriors shootout attempts and junior Mary White buried her attempt to clinch the first state title in any sport for the Highlands Ranch school.
“We’ve been practicing PK’s very regularly for the last six weeks,” Mountain Vista coach Theresa Echtermeyer said. “You have to be prepared.
“We knew if we could hold it to a tie, Erin was our ace in the hole.”
Wallace fully extended on all three stops, diving to her right to deny Brittany Cavarra and Megan Flannery, and to her left to stop Suzanne Sittko.
“It’s just instinct,” said Wallace, an Air Force Academy appointee and The Denver Post’s most valuable player. “You can read their hips somewhat and tell if they’re a power shooter or a placement shooter, and then go where your instincts say and don’t second-guess yourself.”
Arapahoe goalie Dawn Barone made one save during the shootout but was beaten by Emily Stewart and Jessica Nicholas before White’s winner.
“I was so nervous,” White said. “I was sitting there talking to myself, telling myself, ‘You can make this, you can make this.”‘
The Golden Eagles (16-4-1) put on a masterful defensive display to keep the Warriors (17-2-1) at bay despite a near-constant attack. Mountain Vista had just one shot on goal during regulation – Briana Flanigan’s goal in the 36th minute to tie the game.
“I feel bad for the kids. They did everything but put the ball away,” Arapahoe coach Kirk Bast said.
The battle between two of 5A’s most organized defenses lasted just 50 seconds as the Warriors scored on a rush down the right side from Lindsay Stein.
The junior forward never gave the Golden Eagles a chance to set up as she turned the corner in the penalty area and slotted a low pass across the box for Lauren Cavarra to redirect past Wallace.
The Warriors continued to press for most of the first half while limiting Mountain Vista’s speedy forwards from turning toward the goal and generally disrupting the midfield.
But the Golden Eagles leveled the match four minutes before halftime off their first sustained possession in Arapahoe’s end.
White got a ball out from the right corner flag and sent a pass across the top of the penalty area that no defender stepped up to cut out. Flanigan settled the pass, turned and fired a high shot that beat a diving Barone.
Mountain Vista 1 0 0 0 – 1 (3)
Arapahoe 1 0 0 0 – 1 (0)
Goals – A: L. Cavarra (Stein), 1st minute; MV: Flanigan (M. White), 36th.
Shootout goals – MV: E. Stewart, Nicholas, M. White;
A: None.
Shots on goal – Mountain Vista 1-0-0-0 – 1, Arapahoe 3-2-0-1 – 6. Saves – Mountain Vista (Wallace) 2-2-0-1 – 5, Arapahoe (Barone) 0-0-0-0 – 0. Offsides – Mountain Vista 0-0-0-0 – 0, Arapahoe 2-0-0-0 – 2. Corner kicks – Mountain Vista 0-3-0-0 – 3, Arapahoe 2-2-1-0 – 5. Fouls – Mountain Vista 4-7-3-0 – 14; Arapahoe 1-6-1-2 – 10. Yellow card –
Zapapas, A, 74th minute.
