Wheat Ridge scores on only shot in boys soccer win over No. 3 Evergreen
LAKEWOOD — It only takes one opportunity to be victorious on the soccer field sometimes.
That was the case Monday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. Wheat Ridge (9-3, 5-0 in league) had just one shot on goal the entire night against Class 4A Jeffco League rival Evergreen (9-2, 4-1). The one scoring chance found the back of the net, giving the Farmers a 1-0 victory in the key conference matchup and extended Wheat Ridge’s winning streak to six games.
“It was a huge win for us,” Wheat Ridge junior Max Sweeney said. “Since we were two of the top three in the league we knew we needed to perform.”
Sweeney scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 45th minute. Junior Evan Graves took a direct free kick deep in Evergreen’s zone. The low shot by Graves was deflected by Sweeney and slipped past Cougars’ goalie Matt Hornbecker.
“I told them at halftime that it only takes one shot to win this game,” Wheat Ridge coach Tony Thomas said. “It went our way tonight.”
Wheat Ridge did have to hang on to its slim lead and ward off several good scoring chances by Evergreen, ranked No. 3 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 4A boys soccer rankings. The Farmers also had to play a man down for the final 27 minutes of the second half after Graves was issued a red card in the 53rd minute.
The Cougars had a nine-game winning streak coming in, but wasn’t able to solve Wheat Ridge senior goalie Troy Fairbanks.
“I was really stoked to get the first save of the game and kept it going from there,” Fairbanks said. “The defense did really well.”
It was the third straight shutout victory for Fairbanks and the Farmers. The experienced goalie made a handful of diving saves and was also helped out by the post and crossbar late in the second half as the Cougars nearly tied the game on a number of occasions.
“That’s soccer. I’ve been on the winning side of games like that,” Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said. “Wheat Ridge got one chance and buried it. We had many and didn’t bury any.”
Despite the first loss since Evergreen dropped its season opener to Air Academy 1-0, Jeans still has high hopes for his squad.
“It doesn’t shake my confidence in the team,” Jeans said. “I think we are a really good team and will be able to finish strong this year.”
Evergreen will attempt to bounce back when it faces Green Mountain at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at Lakewood Memorial Field.
Wheat Ridge turns its attention to rival Golden (8-1-2, 4-0). The winner of the 6 p.m. game Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada will be the sole conference leader with just two league games remaining.
“We’ll work tomorrow (Tuesday) and get things set and get the ‘W’ on Wednesday,” Fairbanks said.
