ENGLEWOOD — You didn’t see the Valor Christian Eagles coming. At least, not like this.
That’s OK, coach Brock Becker didn’t either.
“This has been beyond my expectations,” Becker said. “They have a really neat opportunity to make some noise the next couple years.”
Why not now? In their first year in Class 4A, the senior-less Eagles from Highlands Ranch advanced to the championship match with a 1-0 victory Saturday over D’Evelyn at Englewood Stadium.
Layla Brown, one of 15 underclassmen on the team, scored the vital goal with a curving free kick from just outside the penalty area in the 25th minute.
“I practice those every day after practice. . . . It was really rewarding,” said Brown, who nearly scored on a free kick in the 10th minute.
The Eagles (18-0-0) will play No. 1 Wheat Ridge at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The Jaguars (15-4-0) had Kira Kaulkus hit the crossbar from yards out in the 39th minute, and Jo-Anne Glynn’s point-blank header was saved in the 45th.
“We had chances,” Jaguars coach Paul Moline said. “It was pretty back and forth. I don’t think either team was really composed today and had any of the play. I’d put this team out against anybody.”
D’Evelyn 0 0 — 0
Valor Christian 1 0 — 1
Goal (assist) — Brown (free kick), 25th minute.
Wheat Ridge 2, Cheyenne Mountain 0
The Wheat Ridge Farmers in a word: Relentless.
Whether attacking or defending, the top-seeded Farmers move with jailbreak speed and a mosh-pit mentality. And they make it look pretty.
Sophomore midfielder Bella Hartley scored in the fifth minute Saturday morning and put the game away in the 73rd with a beautiful goal from 30 yards out to put the Farmers (18-0-0) into Wednesday’s Class 4A state championship game.
“We just worked hard,” Hartley said. “A couple of their chances were really close, but there was no way we wanted them to win. We’re going all the way.”
The early goal, off a pass from forward Annie Kunz, began to look like a curse as the Indians (16-2-1) had the run of play for long stretches and earned a handful of corner kicks. Central defender Lauren Patterson served the ball into the 6-yard box and the Indians — Haley McFarlane, Julianne Marshall, Elise Kensinger and Samantha Kungli — were one solid hit or fortunate bounce from equalizing.
“During this whole season we’ve really tried to get our set pieces down,” Patterson said. “We’ve scored a lot off of corners this year, scored a lot off direct kicks. It just didn’t go our way today.”
Cheyenne Mountain 0 0 — 0
Wheat Ridge 1 1 — 2
Goals (assists) — Hartley (Kunz), fifth minute; Hartley (unassisted), 73rd.
