LAFAYETTE — Alexander Dawson’s ascent to the top of the Class 3A girls soccer poll still has some people shaking their heads.
The Mustangs just continue to prove they belong.
In a classification dominated by the Metropolitan League — winner of every 3A title since 1999 — Alexander Dawson (13-1-1) showed again Tuesday afternoon that it can play with the best the state has to offer.
Alyssa Beck’s goal in the 80th minute evened the game at 1-1 against No. 2-ranked Faith Christian (11-3-1, the Metro League champ), and it finished that way after two five-minute overtime sessions.
“It means a lot to us, and it’s really rewarding,” said Beck, whose left-footed equalizer came with just 24 seconds left on the clock.
The feeling was a little less jovial on the Faith Christian side, and coach Amber Jenkins knows her team let one get away.
“We spent most of the time in our offensive end, which is good,” she said.
The Eagles struck early, in the fourth minute against Mustangs backup keeper Erin Galloway, who was making her first start since the first week of the season. Freshman Ariane Lukens floated a shot over an admittedly nervous Galloway.
“I was super-nervous coming into this, because I’ve been injured the past couple of weeks,” said Galloway, who made 13 saves.
Both teams will receive byes into the 16-team state bracket by virtue of their league champion status. They will wait for the rest of the field to be filled out, with the eight regional games played later this week.
Faith Christian 1 0 0 0 — 1
Alexander Dawson 0 1 0 0 — 1
Goals — FC: Lukens (unassisted), 4th minute; AD: Beck (unassisted), 80th.
Shots on goal — Faith Christian 6-7-0-1 — 14; Alexander Dawson 3-1-2-0 — 6. Saves — Faith Christian (Bartusek) 3-0-2-0 — 5; Alexander Dawson (Galloway) 5-7-0-1 — 13. Corner kicks — Faith Christian 2-8-0-0 — 10; Alexander Dawson 1-0-0-0 — 1. Offsides — Faith Christian 1-0-2-0 — 3; Alexander Dawson 0-0-0-0 — 0. Fouls — Faith Christian 5-9-0-0 — 14; Alexander Dawson 4-6-0-1 — 11. Yellow cards — None.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
