Aurora – Space to work and time to think were precious commodities in Tuesday’s Class 5A state soccer championship match.
Fourteen minutes into overtime, Arapahoe defender Lindsay Ratterman found herself with plenty of both.
“I had more time than I could have asked for,” she said. “It was the most amazing setup. I knew if I hit that ball right, someone was going to get on the end of it and that was the end of the game.”
“Someone” turned out to be fellow senior Suzanne Sittko, who flicked the ball off her head only to watch it arc over goalie Annie Tooley to seal a stunning 1-0 victory at Legacy Stadium.
Sittko’s goal secured Arapahoe’s ninth state title since 1978 while easing the memory of losing in the final last season on penalty kicks to Mountain Vista.
The back-and-forth, physical encounter hinted at the possibility of a similar finish before Sittko put redemption on her head.
“No, sir. We wanted it and it was ours this year,” Sittko said. “I just wanted to get my head on it because all game I had been missing a little short.”
With a little more than 1:40 remaining before the second overtime, Ratterman, The Denver Post’s most valuable player, got the ball near the right sideline, turned inside and got to size up her next move. The Mullen defense sank back toward the goal but couldn’t prevent Sittko’s knifing run just outside the 6-yard box.
The fourth-seeded Warriors (17-3), who played without all-state forward Lindsay Stein (knee), posted their 11th shutout of the season behind three saves from sophomore goalie Katherine Liebetrau. Arapahoe had a few shaky moments early in the season before finishing on a 13-game winning streak.
Mullen (16-3-1) was solid defensively and nearly won the game three minutes into overtime on a blast outside the 18-yard box from sophomore Danielle Foxhoven. Liebetrau seemed to pick up the ball late but instinctively pushed it off the crossbar and out.
The Warriors painted the posts during regulation and kept the Mustangs at arms reach until late in the second half.
Kelly Menachof, Kaitlin Bast and Lauren Cavarra forced great saves before Mary Zapapas ripped a shot off the crossbar in the 48th minute and Cavarra hit the post in the 49th.
Mullen 0 0 0 – 0
Arapahoe 0 0 1 – 1
Goal – Sittko (Ratterman), 94th minute.
Shots on goal – Mullen 0-2-1 3; Arapahoe 3-1-3 7. Saves – Mullen (Tooley) 3-1-2 6; Arapahoe (Liebetrau) 0-2-1-3. Corner kicks – Mullen 1-1-1 3; Arapahoe 2-2-0 4. Offsides – Mullen 0-0-0 0; Arapahoe 1-1-0 2. Fouls – Mullen 5-5-2 12; Arapahoe 3-6-1 10. Yellow cards – None.
