Lakewood – Brock Blume’s pregame speech to his top-ranked Chatfield Chargers was heavy on the Superman theme.
“No Superman,” he said afterward. “Lots of Clark Kent.”
Arvada West proved to be the Chargers’ kryptonite Wednesday at Lakewood Memorial Field, holding on for a 0-0 Jefferson County League tie.
The Wildcats (4-2-2 overall, 3-1-1 in league) had Chatfield on its heels from the get-go. And though the quality scoring chances never developed early, A-West had done what it needed to do in terms of establishing itself and not just rolling over for the Chargers.
Arvada West would finally get that scoring opportunity in the second half. Stacey Heronema’s blistering 30-yard shot was pushed over the bar by a leaping Alyssa Gillmore, who finished with five saves in the shutout.
Ten minutes later, Wildcats forward Dana Baldizan worked herself free inside the box but watched her chance go wide.
“We’re kind of in a little funk right now, and it seems like we are still on spring break,” said Blume, whose team stands 8-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in league. “The reality is, that we have a lot of work to do to prepare for the tournament.”
Chatfield snapped out of its offensive funk in the final 20 minutes, and fortunately for west-facing A-West keeper Annie Brunner, the sun had gone away when it did.
Brunner made two saves in the final 12 minutes of regulation moving to her right, that would have been tougher had they come 10 minutes earlier. The first was against Christine Clark, who tried to beat her low; the second was on Hayley Marsh’s 40-yard rocket that she pushed away from her post.
“It was a tough game and it was an important win, especially against Chatfield,” said Brunner, who felt a tie was as good as a win against the mighty Chargers.
Indiana University-bound Chatfield senior Aleah De- Generes had the best chance in extra time. Her rebound in the second overtime off a Chatfield corner was cleared off the line by Wildcats defender Rene Scott. Another chance moments later went wide.
“When you can’t score, it becomes totally mental,” De- Generes said. “At this stage, we should be able to shoot the ball, and put it exactly where we want it in the net. If we can’t do that, it’s got to be mental.”
Arvada West 0 0 0 0 – 0
Chatfield 0 0 0 0 – 0
Goals – None.
Shots on goal – Arvada West 2-3-0-0 – 5; Chatfield 1-6-0-2 – 9. Saves – Arvada West (Brunner) 1-6-0-1 – 8; Chatfield (Gillmore) 2-3-0-0 – 5. Corner kicks – Arvada West 1-0-0-0 – 1; Chatfield 3-4-1-2 – 10. Offsides – Arvada West 1-2-0-0 – 3; Chatfield 1-1-0-0 – 2. Fouls – Arvada West 3-6-0-0 – 9; Chatfield 7-6-0-0 – 13. Yellow cards – None.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
