Littleton – It began with a whirling dance and ended with a mob.
With a little more than seven minutes remaining in the second overtime, and the prospect of a penalty shootout against one of the state’s best goalies looming, Heritage was admittedly desperate.
Lucky for the Eagles, Kendra Chandhoke was clutch.
Alex Hooker disrupted the Cherry Creek defense with a spinning move and tapped a great pass over to Chandhoke, who rifled a shot past all-state goalie Kristin Arnold in the 103rd minute to give the Eagles a dramatic 1-0 victory at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
“I know their keeper. She’s awesome, and she’s really good at saving those (penalty kicks),” Chandhoke said. “We did not want to go to PKs.”
Chandhoke’s goal was the stunning end to an up-and- down game between two fast, skilled teams. Both sides generated good scoring chances before Heritage coach Tony Hurt decided to press for the victory in the second overtime by playing three forwards and only three defenders.
Hooker had nearly scored twice on similar spin moves, which could be the reason Chandhoke managed to slip in unnoticed to such a dangerous spot for the game-winner.
The victory propelled the top-seeded Eagles (13-1-4) into the Class 5A state semifinals, where they will try to beat bitter rivals Arapahoe for the third time this season. Arapahoe defeated Heritage 1-0 in the state semifinals last season.
The Bruins (12-6), who lost for the second time this season to the Eagles, were sluggish early before they came out flying after halftime behind a fierce – and favorable – wind.
“I thought it was God’s wrath,” Hurt said. “You get a 90 mile-an-hour wind suddenly, beginning of the second half? There was nothing like that the rest of the game.”
The Bruins forced five corner kicks in the second half, but didn’t get their first shot on goal until the 61st minute. Two minutes later, striker Dante Perea and defender Tracy Roos forced dramatic one-handed saves from goalie Mallory George to thicken the plot.
“They were fired up the second half,” Bruins coach David Paynter said of his team. “We had chances. We had some good opportunities, just didn’t cash them.”
The only scoring chance in the first 15-minute overtime fell to Heritage’s Lara Castleton, who came close with a long-distance rip from the left side.
Cherry Creek 0 0 0 0 – 0
Heritage 0 0 0 1 – 1
Goal – Chandhoke (Hooker), 103rd minute.
Shots on goal – Cherry Creek 0-3-0-0 – 3; Heritage 4-1-1-1 – 7. Saves – Cherry Creek (Arnold) 4-1-1-0 – 6; Heritage (George) 0-3-0-0 – 0. Corner kicks – Cherry Creek 1-5-0-1 – 7; Heritage 2-3-0-0 – 5. Offsides – Cherry Creek 1-0-0-0 – 1; Heritage 0-1-0-0 – 1. Fouls – Cherry Creek 1-4-2-1 – 8; Heritage 5-1-2-0 – 9. Yellow cards – None.
