5A boys soccer semifinals: No. 17 Fossil Ridge, No. 11 Grandview to face off in championship match

DENVER – In Wednesday’s Class 5A boys soccer semifinals at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium, No. 11 Grandview outlasted No. 7 Legacy and No. 17 Fossil Ridge edged No. 5 Castle View in overtime. In what has been a crazy postseason to say the least, there is now not one single-digit seed remaining.

On Saturday at Switchbacks Weidner Field, Fossil Ridge will take on Grandview for the championship.
 

(11) Grandview 1, (7) Legacy 0

Grandview’s moment to eke out a victory in regulation seemed as if it might have passed.

Something out of a fairytale, the campus clock at DU rang in the 7 p.m. hour just as the Wolves pulled out their best scoring chance of the night in the 70th minute. It went by the wayside but its storybook ending was still to come.

With 1:41 remaining in regulation, JT Sus played hero as he shattered a scoreless game with his seventh goal of the season to send the Wolves back to the 5A finals for the first time since 2018.

The sophomore raced towards the Grandview stands and pumped his fists after his netter. As the final seconds wore off, the celebration continued on one end of midfield, a contrast to the scene of shock on the other end.

“It’s about patience honestly,” Sus said before cracking a wide grin and letting out a laugh. “I’m sorry, I’m just super excited right now. … It’s really about patience, keep the tempo, relax, and just get the goal we needed. We didn’t stress.”

Grandview’s full-on pressure started with the strike of the campus clock’s bell. It hit once, then twice as Charlie Lucero launched a ball on net that appeared headed for the top corner. A sensational deny by Legacy keeper Ryan Nun saved the Lightning’s season, for a while. 

The pressure didn’t fade, though, and Sus delivered in the 79^th. Conrad Casebolt lifted a cross into the air and through the middle of the box. Sus got enough of his head on it to direct it past Nun for the winner.

“It was a beautiful header just right into the post and in,” Nun said. “It was amazing. It was definitely a goal I’m OK ending our season on because that was a fantastic goal for sure.”

For Legacy, it was the kind of moment it had been accustomed to handing out to others this postseason. The Lightning rolled into their first semifinals in program history on the strength of three consecutive game-winning goals from junior forward Cooper Stephens.

“We’ve had some really close, big, powerful wins and some games like tonight,” Legacy coach Tony Romano said. “Today we were on the wrong side of it. Such is life.”
 

(17) Fossil Ridge 2, (5) Castle View 1 (OT)

Whichever team emerged victorious from Wednesday’s all-Sabercats semifinal between Fossil Ridge and Castle View was going to get a shot at its program’s first boys soccer state championship. After a hard-fought chilly contest and an overtime period that lasted only a few minutes, that team turned out to be Fossil Ridge.

It was a fitting outcome indeed for Fossil Ridge, which has now played into overtime in each of its four playoff games in 2021.
 
The game was scoreless at halftime and remained that way until Castle View took the game’s first lead on a penalty kick scored by Matthew Reljanovic in the 52^nd minute. With under five minutes left to play, Fossil Ridge’s Will Boyle headed a corner kick into the net to tie the game at 1-1 and send the teams into extra time.
 
Just 2 minutes, 44 seconds into overtime, Quinn Ybarra netted yet another golden goal for Fossil Ridge in what has been a miraculous run through the postseason for the first time ever as the No. 17 overall seed.

With all of the top 10 seeds now eliminated from postseason, Fossil Ridge will face No. 11 Grandview in the championship match on Saturday.