Centennial – Ryan Taylor was the go-to guy and the garbage man Tuesday.
The forward scored twice in Arapahoe’s 2-0 victory over Mountain Vista – once with a nifty run through traffic and another when he cleaned up a loose ball outside the goal.
Both scores were impressive, considering Taylor is just a freshman on a Warriors team, ranked No. 1 in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll, stocked with nine seniors.
“All of our players are talented in some way,” Taylor said. “We have a lot of players that can do everything and play any position.”
Taylor broke the deadlock in the 34th minute and struck again in the 65th as the Warriors notched their ninth shutout of the season and improved to 13-0, 10-0 in the Continental League.
Taylor’s second was crucial as the Warriors were beginning to fade against the eighth-ranked Golden Eagles (10-2, 8-2). Behind a boisterous home crowd, the Warriors were more aggressive and creative until Mountain Vista settled down and became more dangerous.
Taylor’s second goal also signaled the beginning of a chippy finish in which four yellow cards and a red card to Arapahoe’s Will Kingery were handed out.
“We lost to them last year, and for those of us who returned, we were pretty angry about that,” Warriors defender Garrison Cole said.
Arapahoe goalie Daniel Sidder made four relatively easy saves for the shutout.
The Golden Eagles’ best chance was a rip by forward Josh Belfrage that went just wide in the 60th minute. Sam Brodsky thought he scored in the 64th minute but had his goal disallowed for offsides. Taylor would make it 2-0 a minute later.
“That goal getting called back would have made all the difference in the momentum of the game,” Golden Eagles coach Theresa Echtermeyer said.
Echtermeyer was pleased with the performance of her young team and said the big-game experience would bode well for the playoffs.
Ken Feehs seemed to spark Arapahoe’s early rush when he nearly scored in the second minute. The Warriors finally broke through six minutes before halftime when Taylor got loose down the right side.
Taylor weaved through several defenders, twisted Danny Starr to the ground and ripped a shot past goalie Johnny Foley.
Taylor’s second goal was sparked by his initial shot that was deflected by defender Cameron Cook. Several players took hacks at it as the Golden Eagles failed to clear the ball before it fell to Taylor to power home.
Mountain Vista 0 0 – 0
Arapahoe 1 1 – 2
Goals – Taylor (unassisted), 34th minute; Taylor (unassisted), 65th.
Shots on goal – Mountain Vista 2-2 – 4; Arapahoe 2-5 – 7. Saves – Mountain Vista (Foley 69 minutes, Acar 11) 1-4 – 5; Arapahoe (Sidder) 2-2 – 4. Offsides – Mountain Vista 0-2 – 2; Arapahoe 0-0 – 0. Corner kicks – Mountain Vista 2-3 – 5; Arapahoe 0-2 – 2. Fouls – Mountain Vista 7-5 – 12; Arapahoe 12-14 – 26. Yellow cards – Bast, A, 34th minute; Yeargin, MV, 46th; Howard, MV, 68th; Mosley, A, 68th; Belfrage, MV, 68th; Madigan, A, 70th; Cole, A, 78th. Red card – Kingery, A, 77th minute.
