Aurora – Finally.
Not only does the word embody the culmination of the 2005-06 scholastic sports year – the 85th on Colorado record – it also ended years of frustration for Broomfield, which needed two overtimes to slip past Ralston Valley 1-0 on Tuesday night at Legacy Stadium to secure its first Class 4A girls soccer title.
The Eagles, who capped their season at 16-2-2, were state runners-up in 2004. The loss extended Ralston Valley’s wait for a title, despite the fact that the Mustangs (16-3-1) have won 80 games in five seasons. This was their first title game in that span.
Of course, the marathon match was decided by Broomfield freshman Danielle Birdsall, who fired home a rebound in the 96th minute, just seconds into the second extra session. She took a lively rebound on the right side after a high shot out front by Kira Brannan was deflected off the crossbar by Mustang goalie Theresa Bagby.
It came right to Birdsall and she knew what to do with it.
“It was such a good effort, everyone played so hard,” Birdsall said. “It was a lucky hit off the crossbar, but we were all there, so it was good. I’m so excited. The only thing that matters is that we won. It didn’t matter who scored.”
Nor did it matter to Eagles coach Jim Davidson, who has a girls title to go along with two for his boys.
“Oh, yeah, Johnny-on-the- spot,” Davidson said of Birdsall’s tally. “We talked about how we wanted to penetrate, to do the penetration if we could get there, and we finally got the right ball.
“So we got to the back post and Danielle was fortunate to tuck it away for us.”
Bagby and her Broomfield counterpart, Becky Ploeger, weren’t really tested. Ralston Valley had its chances, yet also had a harder time of it.
The Mustangs, who have had their share of playoff disappointments, were whistled for 15 fouls to Broomfield’s eight, and were given three yellow cards to none for the Eagles, although Ralston Valley had a slight edge in shots on goal, 4-3.
“I felt like it was pretty defensive, especially in the first half,” Mustangs coach Stephanie Carpenter said.
“In the second half, our kids pulled it together and we had more opportunities. But Broomfield’s tough and there were a lot of nerves going on, too. I’m real confident with Theresa in goal and that goal was a rifle of a shot, nothing to be upset about. I’m real proud of the girls.”
Broomfield 0 0 0 1 – 1
Ralston Valley 0 0 0 0 – 0
Goal – Birdsall, 96th minute. Shots on goal – Broomfield 0-0-1-2-3; Ralston Valley 0-3-1-0-4. Saves – Broomfield (Ploeger) 0-3-1-0-4; Ralston Valley (Bagby) 0-0-1-1-2.
Corner kicks – Broomfield 0-0-0-0-0; Ralston Valley 3-0-0-0-3. Offsides – Broomfield 0-0-1-0-1; Ralston Valley 1-0-1-0-2.
Fouls – Broomfield 4-2-2-0-8; Ralston Valley 6-6-3-0-15. Yellow cards – Nicholson, RV, 37th minute; Hellrung, RV, 42nd; Polito, RV, 67th.
Neil H. Devlin can be reached at 303-820-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com.
