Englewood – For the past two years, the Faith Christian Eagles have felt like the Class 3A state soccer title was taken from them.
Saturday night they took one back with a decisive effort against Metropolitan League rival Denver Christian. In their fifth consecutive state championship game appearance, the Eagles got a goal in the 70th minute from Marcus Kirkwood to secure their fourth title since 2000 with a 1-0 victory at Englewood High School’s Pirates Stadium.
Like in seasons past, the third-seeded Eagles (16-1-2) pressured the opposition with their talented attackers and took over the midfield. This year, however, it paid off as the ninth-seeded Crusaders (13-4-3) – and not the Eagles – made an uncharacteristic defensive mistake.
After having an attack thwarted down the left wing, the ball came rolling into the Denver Christian penalty area with 10 minutes left in regulation. Two defenders converged but hesitated long enough for Kirkwood to pounce.
The towering senior midfielder had only a second to swipe the ball and lash a shot just inside the far post to beat goalie Jeff Lanser.
“All week we’ve been talking about if we do the work, God will take care of the rest,” said Kirkwood, who had three shots in the game to be The Denver Post’s most valuable player. “Honestly, I didn’t think I really had much of a shot. I just pulled the trigger.”
It was a harsh moment for the Crusaders’ back line, which had been rebuilt following graduation and evolved into Denver Christian’s foundation. The Crusaders had frustrated the Eagles most the night, especially forward Sterling Copeland.
“Both of them might have thought either one of them was getting it, or they thought me,” Lanser said of his defenders before the goal. “There’s too many choices of what it could have been and (Kirkwood) just stuck with it like he should have.”
Although the teams played to a 1-1 draw during the regular season, the Crusaders were outshot 8-2 and couldn’t piece together a last-ditch attacking onslaught in the final desperate minutes. Instead it was Faith Christian that continued to push while maintaining a strong defensive front behind Isaac Cowles and goalie Matt Zevenbergen.
“I wasn’t thinking about past years,” Zeven- bergen said. “This was a new year, new season, we’re making history. (Coach) Will (Lind) said before the game, ‘It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, what matters is tonight.”‘
MVP
Faith Christian’s Marcus Kirkwood seized the moment. The senior was a starter last season when the Eagles lost 1-0 to Peak to Peak, a year after losing by the same score to Salida. But the Eagles are back on top of Class 3A after Kirkwood’s pressure resulted in a clutch goal in the 70th minute.
Denver Christian 0 0 – 0
Faith Christian 0 1 – 1
Goal – Kirkwood (unassisted), 70th minute. Shots on goal – Denver Christian 1-1 – 2; Faith Christian 3-5 – 8. Saves – Denver Christian (Lanser) 3-4 – 7; Faith Christian (Zevenbergen) 1-1 – 2. Offsides – Denver Christian 0-3 – 3; Faith Christian 0-1 – 1. Corner kicks – Denver Christian 2-0 – 2; Faith Christian 4-1 – 5. Fouls – Denver Christian 3-6 . 9; Faith Christian 7-9 – 16. Yellow cards – Dyrsten, DC, 57th minute; Thompson, FC, 62nd.
