ARVADA — In a game that featured plenty of scoring chances on both sides, it was a perfectly executed corner kick that gave Denver East a hard-fought 2-1 victory Wednesday night.
The goal was what Denver East — No. 6 in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys soccer rankings — needed in the second half to defeat a game Ralston Valley squad on the natural grass field at the North Area Athletic Complex.
“They are a great team,” Ralston Valley coach Jamie Scarcliff said. “I really respect Denver East. Every year that we’ve play them they are fast, physical and technical. I fell like it was a good performance for us to match that and see where we stand.”
Midway through the second half Denver East senior Zeke Lubin served a brilliant corner kick that fellow senior Lee Morrison put into the back of the net to break a 1-1 tie.
“I went for the header and scored,” Morrison said. “Big credit to Zeke that was a great ball.”
The victory improved Denver East to 3-0 on the season, while Ralston Valley dropped to 2-4.
“It is a big win. It was a great game,” Morrison said. “Give credit to Liam Sloan — our goalie — and the whole team. We started out a little rough, but pulled it together to get the win.”
The Mustangs got the board first on a great left-footed kick by senior Jackson Ruff in the 8th minute. Moments earlier Ruff rattled the cross bar, but found the back of the net coming off a Ralston Valley corner kick.
Ruff was able to gather the ball and turn quickly for a shot before Denver East defenders could block his shot that got past Sloan.
“I saw the flick go over me. Inside the 18 (yard box) I just decided to turn and smash it,” Ruff said of his goal in the 8th minute. “I was lucky it got through some people and hit the back of the net.”
Denver East would answer four minutes later. Senior Nathan Howard found himself with an open look and powered a shot past Ralston Valley goalie Evan Bierman in the 12th minute to tie things up at 1-1.
Both teams had some scoring chances in the second part of the first half, but both Sloan and Bierman held strong to keep the game tied going into halftime.
“Their keeper made some good saves and Evan made some good saves,” Scarcliff said.
Despite the loss, Scarcliff liked what she saw with the Mustangs going up against the perennial 5A powerhouse that is always in the mix during the state tournament.
“It was a much better performance from us from beginning to end,” Scarcliff said. “It was probably the first game this year that we played from the first whistle through the second half. We still have some things to work on, but I felt our effort and connection as a group was more there today than we’ve seen all season.”
Ralston Valley nearly tied it up in the final minutes. The Mustangs had chances on a couple of corner kicks. Senior Shaun Martinez and sophomore Cooper Hineline both had shots on goals in the final two minutes that were saved by Sloan.
“It was a big improvement on our part,” Ruff said. “We obviously have stuff to work on, but we are moving in the right direction. It’s a loss but we can build from it.”
Ralston Valley finishes its non-league schedules with a pair of road games. The Mustangs travel to Colorado Springs on Sept. 15 to face Liberty before heading up north to Fort Collins to square off against Rocky Mountain.
The Class 5A Jeffco League schedule begins for Ralston Valley when it host Lakewood on Sept. 29. The conference looks to be a tight race with No. 3-ranked Valor Christian as the front-runner. The Eagles are actually currently the lone 5A Jeffco team with an above .500 record.
Denver East gets busy with non-league games against last year’s 5A state semifinalist and currently No. 1-ranked Legacy on the road Sept. 13 and Fossil Ridge at home next week.
Legacy actually ended the 2021 season for both Ralston Valley and Denver East. Ralston Valley lost 1-0 in the first round of the state tournament to the Lightning. Legacy defeated the Angels 1-0 in the state quarterfinals.