ARVADA — It’s pretty cool to see what a bunch of kids from a county on the Western Slope can do when they all come together. And play soccer.
The team of Delta County, officially the Hotchkiss Bulldogs, completed one of the most stunning Cinderella runs in state soccer history Tuesday night, winning the Class 3A state championship with a 1-0 victory over Colorado Academy.
With players from Hotchkiss, Cedaredge, Paonia and Delta, the No. 8 Bulldogs put on a clinic of intangibles at the North Area Athletic Complex to score and survive a furious onslaught from the No. 3 Mustangs.
“It’s heart. That’s what brought these kids through so much,” Bulldogs coach Elaine Wood said. “They wanted it bad, and you could see it by their play.”
The Bulldogs (16-0-4) got a disputed goal in the 25th minute on a 40-yard free kick by Manuel Ramirez. The Mustangs thought goalkeeper Bobby Thalman, who had his legs taken away as he tried to punch the ball clear and could only watch the ball skip into the empty net, was fouled.
Ramirez, a senior midfielder from Delta, was certainly cringing.
“I thought it was going to be a foul back there,” he said with a smile. “I thought someone pushed him.”
The Mustangs (16-4-0) certainly had a wealth of scoring opportunities afterward, although they did have a goal by Demitri Carahalios ruled offside in the 26th minute. The Mustangs seemed on the verge of equalizing all night, but the Bulldogs threw themselves into every moment and were rewarded with deflections, steals or saves by keeper Evan Hansen.
“I thought we did a fantastic job the first 10 minutes of the second half,” Mustangs coach Jean-Claude Pritchard said. “We hit the post, we had lots of opportunities, but that’s the game of soccer.”
Hotchkiss 1 0 — 1
Colorado Academy 0 0 — 0
Goal — Ramirez (free kick), 25th minute. Shots on goal — Hotchkiss 3-2 — 5; Colorado Academy 3-4 — 7. Saves — Hotchkiss (Hansen) 3-4 — 7; Colorado Academy (Thalman) 2-2 — 4. Offside — Hotchkiss 0-1 — 1; Colorado Academy 1-1 — 2. Corner kicks — Hotchkiss 0-1 — 1; Colorado Academy 1-1 — 2. Fouls — Hotchkiss 7-6 — 13; Colorado Academy 5-4 — 9. Yellow card — Perkins-Smith, CA, 60th minute.
MVPs
To elevate a single player would go against the grain of everything the Bulldogs did defensively Tuesday night. Sure, goalkeeper Evan Hansen made seven saves, but defender Jacob Fuller was huge, as was striker Brian Hernandez, who came back to play sweeper.
