ENGLEWOOD — In what has become one of Colorado’s longer soccer feuds, a sophomore might have had the last word Saturday night.
Trying to turn the tide on Liberty’s dominance after halftime, Broomfield sought to rekindle the fire that had waned since Kyle Reddy’s goal in the fifth minute. Garrett Seitz had an idea after chesting down Travis Boccard’s throw-in.
“I just turned and shot far post,” he said.
With 10 minutes remaining in the second overtime, Seitz’s shot from the edge of the penalty area froze Lancers goalkeeper Kevin Barthe and went in for a 2-1 Class 4A state semifinal victory.
The top-seeded Eagles, who lost to the Lancers in the 2006 final but beat them in the 2005 final, were under siege most of the game and outshot 8-2 during regulation. Coach Jim Davidson had to practice therapy before overtime.
“I told him, ‘You’ve got to put it all behind you,”‘ Davidson said of his words to Seitz. “I think he was trying to create an opportunity.”
The Eagles (19-0) seek a fourth title since 1999 on Wednesday against No. 23 Mullen (10-7-2).
“The lights and the crowd and the stadium and the environment, it really gets everybody going,” said Seitz, who started in last year’s final.
After Reddy’s opener, the No. 4-seeded Lancers (14-5) drew even in the 62nd minute on a goal by Javier Salome from deep on the left side. Salome, a junior playmaker, was hurt late after halftime and played sporadically in OT.
Liberty, which has five state titles since 1990, will move up to 5A next season and might not face Broomfield in the playoffs again. Coach Mike Goyden was pleased with his team’s effort Saturday, considering the Eagles trounced Liberty 3-1 on Sept. 29.
“If you saw where we were a month ago playing Broomfield, it was the worst game of our season,” Goyden said. “We turned it around and thought we could beat them.”
Liberty 0 1 0 0 – 1
Broomfield 1 0 0 1 – 2
Goals – B: Reddy (Chapleski), fifth minute; L: Salome (unassisted), 62nd; B: Seitz (Boccard), 100th. Shots on goal – Liberty 3-5-0-0 – 8; Broomfield 2-0-0-2 – 4. Saves – Liberty (Barthe) 1-0-0-1 – 2; Broomfield (Sabados) 3-4-0-0 – 7. Offsides – Liberty 0-1-0-0 – 1; Broomfield 0-3-0-0 – 3. Corner kicks – Liberty 4-2-0-0 – 6; Broomfield 2-0-2-0 – 4. Fouls – Liberty 3-10-4-0 – 17; Broomfield 8-4-2-0 – 14. Yellow cards – None.
