Littleton – In a game of inches, Arapahoe was coming out on the short end Wednesday night for nearly an hour.
The top-ranked Class 5A Warriors had been denied by the crossbar against Overland and seemed just a split-second from connecting on a variety of promising attacks.
Joe Madigan reversed that trend in the 58th minute when he broke free down the right side and blasted a shot across the goal that banked in off the far post to clinch the 1-0 victory at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
“We just stuck to the game plan from the beginning, because what we were doing was working, all we needed to do was finish,” Madigan said.
Madigan’s second goal in as many games propelled Arapahoe into Saturday’s final of the 15th annual Warrior Kickoff Classic against Cherry Creek, which defeated Mullen 3-2 to advance.
The Warriors (2-0) outshot the Trailblazers 7-2, but had a hard time breaking down their defense, led by juniors Evan Bartels and Matt Moran.
Overland kept the Warriors honest with a strong counterattack, led by junior striker Francis Jiple, who emigrated to Colorado from Africa eight months ago. Jiple’s dribbling skills made him nearly impossible to stop and he won several free kicks around the goal by drawing fouls.
“You play the ball to his feet and he’ll take anyone on,” Overland coach Mazen Kayali said of Jiple, who scored five goals in Tuesday’s win over Rock Canyon.
The Trailblazers (1-2) didn’t generate many scoring chances down the stretch but kept the Warriors under pressure until the final whistle.
“This is very similar to what a game later in the year is going to be like: very, very tight, very physical, one mistake could call the game either way,” Arapahoe coach Mark Hampshire said.
Arapahoe midfielders Keegen Bast and Conner Talbert were denied a pretty give-and-go goal in the 18th minute. Bast flicked the ball behind his back to Talbert and broke on goal only to be denied at the doorstep by goalie Zack Fretz.
The crossbar bailed out Fretz in the 35th minute when he spilled a low free kick by Chris Carry inside the 6-yard box. Defender Zach Salas was first to the loose ball but angled his shot high off the bar for Fretz to capture.
Overland 0 0 – 0
Arapahoe 0 1 – 1
Goal – Madigan (Carry), 58th minute.
Shots on goal – Overland 2-0 – 2; Arapahoe 4-3 7. Saves – Overland (Fretz) 4-2 6; Arapahoe (Sidder) 2-0 2. Offsides – Overland 0-0 – 0; Arapahoe 0-1 – 1. Corner kicks – Overland 2-2 – 4; Arapahoe 1-2 – 3. Fouls – Overland 3-6 – 9; Arapahoe 12-9 – 21. Yellow cards – Bast, A, 20th minute; Jiple, O, 21st; Taylor, A, 57th; Kingery, A, 76th; Gass, O, 76th.
