LITTLETON — Lexi Stirling accidentally scored on her own team Thursday night. The Heritage senior was quickly consoled by her teammates and urged to just “shake it off.”
Stirling found better therapy by scoring the game-winning goal in the 71st minute as the seventh-ranked Eagles rallied for a 4-2 Class 5A Continental League victory over the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles.
Stirling’s own goal, which came off an attempt to clear a shot by Kelsey Adams, put the Eagles (6-1-1, 3-0 in league) down 2-1 in the 34th minute. Rebecca Medina tied the game four minutes later, but the Eagles would have to wait until the final 10 minutes to regain the lead at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
“When you have a mistake like that, you have to shake it off,” Stirling said. “If I let it get to me, it’s going to spread through the team.”
Stirling created her own fortune when the Golden Eagles (3-3, 3-1) failed to clear the ball following Katy Oehring’s corner kick. Medina pounded the ball back into the fray and the deflection fell squarely for Stirling to sweep home.
“I was there, and you can’t ask for more,” she said.
It was a freewheeling encounter between two skilled, young teams. The passes were aggressive and accurate and the linking play was fast and fluid. And the ball was pink — one of several symbolic gestures for breast cancer awareness.
Sophomore forward Ashley Holland scored Heritage’s opening goal in the 17th minute and poked home the insurance goal in the 74th off a deflected shot by Oehring.
The Golden Eagles equalized in the 22nd minute on a thundering 35-yard strike by Ashton Hall before briefly taking the lead 12 minutes later.
Behind Hall and speedy junior Hayley Hughes, the Golden Eagles were dangerous on the counterattack, but the Eagles were able to wear them down in the second half on both ends of the pitch.
“They were just a little bit more physical and athletic,” Mountain Vista coach Theresa Echtermeyer said.
Mountain Vista 2 0 — 2
Heritage 2 2 — 4
Goals — H: Holland (unassisted), 17th minute; MV: Hall (unassisted), 22nd; MV: Own goal, 34th; H: Medina (unassisted), 38th; H: Stirling (unassisted), 71st; H: Holland (unassisted), 74th.
Shots on goal — Mountain Vista 1-1 — 2, Heritage 3-5 — 8. Saves — Mountain Vista (Rychlec) 1-3 — 4, Heritage (Spicer) 0-1 — 1. Offside — Mountain Vista 0-1 — 1, Heritage 0-0 — 0. Corner kicks — Mountain Vista 0-2 — 2, Heritage 0-3 — 3. Fouls — Mountain Vista 0-3 — 3, Heritage 8-6 — 14. Yellow card — None.
