Littleton – It took a melee to prevent the madness of overtime Saturday night.
Locked in a physical, well-fought and well-played match against bitter rival Arapahoe, the Heritage Eagles managed to change the course of a game that seemed destined for sudden death.
With a shade less than five minutes remaining, Eagles junior Taylor Nicholls crossed the ball into the Warriors’ penalty area to spark a pinball moment between teammates Kayla Yee and Abby Loar.
The last deflection went to Loar, who swiveled on a dime and swept a low shot into the goal as the Eagles won the Warrior Invitational Tournament for the second straight season with a 1-0 victory at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
“There was just too many overtimes in this tournament, so you just got to finish it,” Loar said.
The Eagles (4-0), ranked No. 4 in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll, played without all-state striker Alex Hooker, but still managed to produce the better scoring chances against the 2006 state champions and second-ranked Warriors (3-1).
Despite being early in a season made even shorter because of the lingering snow that marred practices, both teams showed off their young talent and were very organized and controlled on both sides of the pitch.
“I think it was a good soccer game,” Warriors coach Kirk Bast said. “I think people would be impressed with the level of play, especially with how many (seniors) Tony (Hurt) lost and how many we lost.”
Of course, talent is only a sideshow to the history between these Continental League powerhouses.
“I mean, it’s 7:30 under the lights against Arapahoe, there’s nothing better than that,” Loar said.
Heritage goalie Andrea Swanson made five saves for the shutout as the Eagles have yet to allow a goal this season.
The Warriors were generating better possession in the second half and kept the Eagles from pressing their attack for very long. But the Eagles were dangerous in bursts as Leslie Boersma headed a shot wide in the 43rd minute and Yee produced a good save in the 60th on a header off Sam Post’s corner kick.
Heritage’s final burst proved to be its best.
“We had to get numbers forward, we talked about that at halftime,” Hurt said. “When they play three in the back we try to get the ball outside and that was the key as well.”
Heritage 0 1 – 1
Arapahoe 0 0 – 0
Goal – Loar (Yee), 76th minute.
Shots on goal – Heritage 2-2 – 4; Arapahoe 2-3 – 5. Saves – Heritage (A. Swanson) 2-3 – 5; Arapahoe (K. Swanson) 2-1 – 3. Offsides – Heritage 0-0 – 0; Arapahoe 0-1 – 1. Corner kicks – Heritage 1-1 – 2; Arapahoe 1-1 – 2. Fouls – Heritage 9-5 – 14; Arapahoe 8-5 – 13. Yellow cards – Cavarra, A, 10th minute; Solich, A, 21st; Nicholls, H, 26th.
