Aurora – The Smoky Hill Buffaloes went through the looking glass Thursday and they liked what they saw.
A season after losing the Class 5A state championship in overtime to Fort Collins, the Buffaloes turned the tables, right down to the little details.
Smoky Hill scored first this time, gave up the equalizer and then won it 2-1 on a goal by Tyler Burns two minutes into overtime for a slice of nonleague revenge served in the wind at Legacy Stadium.
“They’re definitely different teams that are out there, to say the least,” Smoky Hill coach Danny Winsor said. “Is it something that stuck in our heads, you know, 1-1 going into overtime again? Absolutely.”
Antonio Rosales opened the scoring in the fifth minute for the Buffaloes (6-0), ranked No. 2 in The Denver Post/9News poll, before the fifth-ranked Lambkins (3-2) leveled the match six minutes later on Damir Trncic’s header.
A strong south wind sucked the life out of the second half as both teams struggled to possess the ball. Going into the wind at the start of overtime, the Buffaloes needed just 64 seconds to grab the victory.
All-Colorado goalie Miguel Rosales powered a long free kick into the Lambkins’ penalty area that hung in the air at the top of the 6-yard box. Fort Collins goalie Chris Couperus got two hands on it but had it jarred loose.
Hello, Burns.
“I didn’t know until it hit the back of the net,” Burns said of his slow roller that crept inside the left post. “(Couperus) was able to get a few of ours out early, so I was just happy.”
Said Fort Collins coach Jason Odorizzi, “We didn’t mark at the end.”
Couperus, a freshman, made four of his five saves in the first half to deny Smoky Hill an early rout. In the 32nd minute, Couperus pawed away a blistering drive by Antonio Rosales and held on to the follow-up attempt by Tomas Hrachovina. Ben Lopez had his shot kicked wide in the 33rd minute.
Miguel Rosales was beaten for the first time since that loss to Fort Collins last season. His scoreless streak of more than 400 minutes ended when Trncic’s angled header caught him on the ground after his initial save on Steven Emory’s 19-yard free kick.
Fort Collins 1 0 0 – 1
Smoky Hill 1 0 1 – 2
Goals . SH: A. Rosales (free kick), 5th minute; FC: Trncic (unassisted), 11th; SH: Burns (unassisted), 82nd.
Shots on goal – Fort Collins 3-2-0 – 5; Smoky Hill 5-1-1 – 7. Saves – Fort Collins (Couperus) 4-1-0 – 5; Smoky Hill (M. Rosales) 2-2-0 – 4. Offsides – Fort Collins 0-0-0 – 0; Smoky Hill 1-1-0 – 2. Corner kicks – Fort Collins 2-0-0 – 2; Smoky Hill 1-5-0 – 6. Fouls – Fort Collins 7-3-1 – 11; Smoky Hill 11-7-0 – 18. Yellow cards – Burns, SH, 11th minute; Osorio, SH, 49th.
