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After聽losing in聽the Class 5A championship game last season, Mountain Vista found redemption on Wednesday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with a 3-1 win over Arapahoe to give the Golden Eagles their fourth state title.

Katie Joella and Taeya Schueppert scored聽first half goals for the Golden Eagles, and Schueppert added another in the second half as Mountain Vista (17-2-1) dominated possession down the stretch of the match.

“Last season’s ending was sad, because we had put in the work and we came up just short,” CU-bound聽Katie Joella said. “So the feeling right now — to have the trophy — it’s completely indescribable.”

Coach聽Theresa Echtermeyer’s side also聽won key 50/50 balls on Arapahoe’s half of the pitch, and聽showed the same poise that allowed the Golden Eagles to defeat two-time defending champion Grandview 4-3 on penalty kicks in the semifinals last week.

Arapahoe, too, had its chances, including two near-goals within the first ten minutes of the match.

But though the Mountain Vista defense bent, it didn’t break until garbage time when Arapahoe senior Sydney Maxson’s free kick found the back of the net, as freshman Baileigh Baker and junior Kylee Love kept the Warriors mostly in check.

“Everyone on this defense put their heart into the match, and it showed in the second half when Arapahoe was聽pushing,”聽Kylee Love said. “But we stayed focused through those rough patches, and we didn’t stop believing we were going to win. We worked harder from last season’s disappointment, and that’s why we’re here now.”

Arapahoe finishes聽15-5 and fell short of adding to their record nine state championships, although the Warriors figure to make another title push next season with the core of its offense returning in聽junior Dani Babb, sophomore聽Audrey Weiss and junior聽Haley Archuleta as well as a key component on the defensive end in sophomore聽keeper Grace Cadorette.