Littleton – Neither Regis nor Heritage won Wednesday night, yet both teams were pretty happy.
That’s because neither team lost at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
The Raiders, however, are within a victory of clinching the Continental League crown following their 1-1 double-overtime draw with the Eagles that had the look and feel of a playoff game.
Regis (11-0-3, 8-0-1 league), ranked No. 1 in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll, rallied in the 36th minute with a goal from Seth Tamminga to cancel out Hunter Railey’s opener in the 28th for the eighth-ranked Eagles (10-1-2, 6-1-2).
Each team defended well, had moments of sparkling possession in the midfield and counterattacked with conviction.
“They played very hard; we played real hard,” Regis coach Peter Scott said. “They played better than us in the first half; I thought we had the better second half. In the overtime, we had the better first half and they had a couple chances at the end.”
Said Heritage coach Tony Hurt: “The tie was probably a fair result.”
The Raiders can wrap up the Continental League today with a victory over Ponderosa.
Although a Heritage victory would have turned the league race on end, Hurt said he was satisfied with the effort his team put in.
The Eagles got on the board with less than 13 minutes remaining in the first half on a long throw in by senior midfielder Joe Popovich. Popovich flung the ball into the box and Railey managed to redirect it into the upper corner with his back to the goal.
Railey’s looping header came off the side of his head and seemed to surprise Regis goalie Tyler Picard as it floated in just under the crossbar.
Regis answered eight minutes later when Anthony Naes played a free kick to Tamminga, which the senior hammered through traffic from 25 yards out.
“Actually, it’s not in the playbook,” Naes said of the set piece. “We drew it up on the field. Seth wanted the ball, but through a different combination, and I said ‘No.”‘
Tamminga had the best chance to break the deadlock in the 58th minute when a loose ball fell to him after a corner kick, but his shot sailed inches over the crossbar.
The Eagles came closest in overtime when junior Tyler Sabey fired just wide of the goal in the 86th minute.
Regis 1 0 0 0 – 1
Heritage 1 0 0 0 – 1
Goals – H: Railey (Popovich), 28th minute; R: Tamminga (Naes), 36th.
Shots on goal – Regis 3-1-0-0 – 4; Heritage 2-0-0-0 – 2. Saves – Regis (Picard) 1-0-0-0 – 1; Heritage (Alcorn) 2-0-0-0 – 2. Offsides – Regis 0-0-0-0 – 0; Heritage 0-1-0-0 – 1. Corner kicks – Regis 2-3-1-0 – 6; Heritage 1-2-0-1 – 4. Fouls – Regis 4-5-1-1 – 11; Heritage 4-8-1-0 – 13. Yellow cards – Popovich, H, 49th minute; Lambert, H, 84th.
