Arvada – Armando Ibarra has seen enough overtime soccer in the past two seasons.
Last week Ibarra scored the game-winning shootout goal in Golden’s first-round matchup, a fitting tonic considering the Demons were eliminated from the state tournament last season in similar fashion.
So with four minutes remaining in the second overtime Wednesday against Greeley Central, Ibarra snuck down the outside and found the perfect spot to end things.
Teammate Jonny Rabadan cut a pass across the field to give Ibarra enough time to settle, size up the situation and smash the ball past goalkeeper Jeff Allen for a stunning 2-1 victory at the North Area Athletic Complex.
“No way. Not again,” Ibarra said of the thought of going through another shootout. “We felt like we were dominating the whole game, we just had to keep at it so we could get that goal. We never quit. That’s the point of this game.”
Ibarra had little room for error as Allen took up a seemingly perfect position and forced the senior to go for the far post. Allen got a hand on the ball but couldn’t prevent it from banging in off the post.
“I got all my hand on it,” Allen said. “I don’t know. It didn’t go our way tonight.”
The Demons (13-2-2), seeded 11th in the Class 4A state tournament, advance to the state semifinals Saturday at Englewood High School, where they will face No. 2 Liberty. Liberty defeated Niwot 2-0 on Wednesday to advance.
The No. 14 Wildcats (13-5), who had stunned No. 3 Mullen in the second round last week, were organized defensively and were dangerous with their jailbreak counterattack. The visitors grabbed the lead on Dustin Long’s goal from 45 yards in the 10th minute and went on to outshoot the Demons 9-3 and 5-0 on corner kicks.
Despite the statistical domination, the Demons were equally as dangerous after halftime, a change of pace sparked by Ray Klucik’s goal in the 42nd minute.
The Demons earned a free kick just outside the right side of the Wildcats’ penalty area. Rabadan sent the ball in to the near post, which Klucik redirected with his head into the goal.
“Coach (Chad Reid) says it comes down to heart at this point, that’s the biggest part,” Klucik said. “We were persistent.”
Sam Rich nearly got the lead back for the Wildcats in the 46th minute but had his header saved off the line by defender Steve Knudson.
Greeley Central 1 0 0 0 – 1
Golden 0 1 0 1 – 2
Goals – GC: Long (unassisted), 10th minute; G: Klucik (Rabadan), 42nd; Ibarra (Rabadan), 106th.
Shots on goal – Greeley Central 3-4-1-1 – 9; Golden 0-1-1-1 – 3. Saves – Greeley Central (Allen) 0-0-1-0 – 1; Golden (Tinucci) 2-4-1-1 – 8. Offsides – Greeley Central 0-0-0-0 – 0; Golden 0-0-1-0 – 1. Corner kicks – Greeley Central 1-1-2-1 – 5; Golden 0-0-0-0 – 0. Fouls – Greeley Central 4-2-4-2 – 12; Golden 6-5-2-2 – 15. Yellow cards – None.
