Chatfield senior Ben Overholt (10) is mobbed by teammates after scoring the game-winning goal Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. Overholt’s goal in the first overtime gave the Chargers a 4-3 victory against Westminster and punched Chatfield’s ticket to the Class 5A boys soccer state quarterfinals. (Dennis Pleuss
The Chargers took a 4-3 victory in overtime Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field against No. 27 Westminster, sending the fourth-place finisher in the 5A Jeffco League into the quarterfinals.
“Tonight was all about finding a way to win after facing adversity,” Chatfield coach Brock Blume said. “We dug deep and good stuff happened.”
Chatfield junior Jacob Cabot (2) battles with Westminster senior Juan Munoz (8) for possession of the ball during the first half Wednesday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss
In a game that saw plenty of end-to-end action, Chatfield senior Ben Overholt scored the game-winning goal with 3:56 left in the first 15-minute overtime period. Junior Jacob Cabot flipped a perfect pass over a wall over Westminster players from atop the Wolves’ goalie box.
“I saw Cabot. He had been playing good passes all game. I knew if he were smart he would play it over the top,” Overholt said as he described the game-winning goal, his 15th goal of the season. “I just timed the run perfectly for him. I was just thinking to get it past the keeper and it went in.”
Overholt was able to put the ball past Westminster senior goalkeeper Isaiah Mondragon and the victory celebration by the Chargers (11-4-1 record) begun.
“I stopped and saw Ben make the run over the top. I played him and he finished like he has all year long,” Cabot said. “It’s a great team win.”
Chatfield will be on the road for its quarterfinal Saturday, Nov. 1, at Recht Field against No. 3 Boulder. The 5A Front Range League champion also had to work overtime Wednesday night. The Panthers defeated No. 19 Poudre 1-0 in overtime to advance.
It appeared Chatfield would win in regular against Westminster. Overholt rocked a shot past Mondragon with just less than two minutes left in the second half to give the Chargers a 3-2 lead.
However, senior Said Moreno answered with a game-tying goal for Westminster with 33 second left to send the game into overtime.
Moreno gave the Wolves (8-8-1) a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of the first half. A goal from Chatfield freshman Wyatt Solarte tied the game at 1-1 in the 19th minute.
“Both these teams are better than 20-something seeds,” Blume said. “Credit Westminster for a great battle.”
Westminster junior Chance Vang (18) attempts to slide tackle Chatfield senior Jamey McGrath (9) during the second-round game of the Class 5A boys soccer state tournament Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss
Chatfield senior Jared Reiss gave the Chargers a 2-1 lead in the 58th minute on a penalty kick. Again, the Wolves answered less than a minute later with a goal from junior Carlos Zager.
Westminster knocked off No. 6 Arapahoe in the opening round. The Wolves and Warriors were tied 1-1 after 110 minutes of play. The first-round game was decided in a shootout, something that Blume didn’t want Wednesday night.
“We didn’t want to take this to (penalty) kicks,” Blume said. “We didn’t want to be the next Arapahoe.”
A downer for Chatfield despite the win was an injury to senior and leading scorer Jamey McGrath. The midfield has 22 goals on the season had to be helped off the field in the 44th minute and was on crutches after the victory.
The Chargers have had their share of key injuries. Overholt missed a handful of games with a broken left arm this season.
“Losing Jamey (McGrath) would be really bad, but I believe we have enough momentum to beat any team at this point,” Overholt said.
Chatfield senior Ben Overholt, far right, leads a pack of Chargers after Overholt scored late in the second half to give Chatfield a 3-2 lead over Westminster on Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss
