Broomfield – A dead-ball situation kept Broomfield alive Saturday.
The fifth-seeded Eagles lost two leads to Regis in the final 13 minutes of regulation and found themselves immersed in a dogfight headed for overtime.
Overtime lasted just five minutes as Amanda Kafer earned a free kick just outside the penalty area and punched it in herself after a mad scramble to secure a wild 3-2 victory and a spot in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
“I think we got unlucky a little bit and then kind of turned on the spark and found the back of the net,” Kafer said.
The Eagles (13-2-2) took the lead on a goal by Tressa Thompson in the 35th minute and dictated most of the match. But the Raiders (6-9-2) equalized behind Kaily Benenati in the 67th minute to spark a frantic finish.
Broomfield went up 2-1 with nine minutes remaining on a low rip by junior Kalli Goldberg only to have the Raiders level the match three minutes later on a goal from sophomore forward Adria Staky.
With the Eagles reeling, the Raiders were swarming and thought they had taken the lead with 2:27 remaining, but Staky’s goal was wiped away for offsides.
Given 10 minutes before overtime to recover, Eagles coach Jim Davidson made a tactical change to slow Regis standout Keelin Winters and told his team a free kick might be all they needed.
“Sure enough, Kira (Brannan) puts that ball on the keeper, who had had trouble with her hands all night, and we got in on it,” Davidson said.
Regis goalie Katy Kenealy could not hold Brannan’s shot, dropping it into a crowd of flying bodies. The ball deflected just wide where Amanda Foulk jumped and tapped it back to the center for Kafer to slam home.
“I think giving them the 10 minutes to kind of reorganize is what saved them,” Regis coach Jon Jacobs said of the Eagles. “If we would have had another five minutes, I think we had them on the ropes.”
Admittedly, the Raiders were on the ropes throughout the first half, which Jacobs credited to Kafer unexpectedly playing up top. Jacobs answered in the second half by withdrawing Winters into the midfield, which Davidson credited for Regis’ strong second half.
Broomfield, which knocked Regis out of the quarterfinals last season, will host No. 13 Pueblo Centennial (15-1-1) on Thursday after the Bulldogs upset Pine Creek on Saturday.
Regis 0 2 0 – 2
Broomfield 1 1 1 – 3
Goals – B: Thompson (Brannan), 35th minute; R: Benenati (Winters), 67th; B: Goldberg (unassisted), 71st; R: Staky (McArdle), 74th; B: Kafer (A. Foulk), 85th.
Shots on goal – Regis 1-5-0-6; Broomfield 3-2-1-6.
Saves – Regis (Kenealy) 2-1-0-3; Broomfield (Ploeger) 1-3-0-4.
Corner kicks – Regis 0-2-0-2; Broomfield 2-3-0-5.
Offsides – Regis 0-1-0-1; Broomfield 1-2-0-3.
Fouls – Regis 7-3-1-11; Broomfield 5-4-1-10.
Yellow cards – None.
