Top-10 5A girls soccer match-up — Valor vs Ralston Valley — ends in draw

ARVADA — For the second time this week, Valor Christian and Ralston Valley worked overtime on the girls soccer pitch.

Valor — No. 4 in the Class 5A rankings — tied Arvada West 2-2 on Tuesday at the North Area Athletic Complex. No. 9 Ralston Valley suffered a 2-1 double-overtime loss the same night to Chatfield at Lakewood Memorial Field.

The Eagles and Mustangs were both looking to get back in the win column in the key 5A Jeffco League showdown Friday night at NAAC. However, neither left field with a victory. The top-10 match-up ended in a 1-1 tie over 100 minutes of action.

“I thought we played better tonight then we did the other night,” Valor coach Brian Schultz said of the second straight tie at NAAC this week. “I was proud of our girls effort. Ralston Valley is a complete team. They have all the pieces.”

After 80 minutes of regulation-time, Valor (5-1-3, 2-0-2 in 5A Jeffco) had to best two scoring chances in overtime. Senior Jo Sees had a great chance in the 85th minute, but Ralston Valley junior goalie Margot Mulhern made a diving save.

“We have already done it,” Mulhern said of playing an overtime for the second time this week. “In my head, I can’t let anything in. I take that on my back that I don’t let any goals in. We couldn’t get any goals in, sadly. That happens. We are just going to move forward and get ready for our next game.”

Sees had a breakaway chance on Mulhern in the final minute of the first 10-minute overtime period. Mulhern came up big again coming out to challenge the shot and deflect it wide of the net.

“It was a lot on instinct,” Mulhern said of the pair of brilliant saves on shots by Sees in the first 10-minute overtime period. “I go in with all the confident that I can (make the save). I give it everything that I can.”

Neither team could get a solid scoring chance in the second 10-minute overtime period and the game ended in a draw just before the snow started flying.
 

“We’ll take a tie. I’m really proud how we came out in the second half and our two overtime periods,” Ralston Valley coach Kamee Morwood said. “We are just trying to put that together for our team to play that way the entire game. That is something we’ve struggled with so far this season.”

 

The Eagles scored the lone goal in the first half in the 33rd minute. A corner kick by senior Addison Whitehouse found senior Mandy Patrick on the far side of the net at point-blank range. Valor’s captain headed the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead before halftime.

Valor had a couple of chances in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Sees and Whitehouse both put shots just over the crossbar.

A great scoring chance for Ralston Valley came off a long direct free kick midway through the second half. Sophomore Raleigh Greason was able to get a foot after the initial free kick, but the ball went off the post and cleared by the Eagles.

Ralston Valley kept the pressure up and scored the equalizer in the 60th minute. Sophomore Sienna Eckert’s corner kick got to sophomore Holly Engelkick, who knocked the ball past Valor goalie Kylie Schultz to tie the game up 1-1.

The tie leaves Chatfield (7-4, 4-0) in good shape when it comes to the league championship race with three conference games left. However, Valor still could catch the Chargers.

“I was pretty sure we had to win out,” Schultz said of the Jeffco League title. “I didn’t look much past this game. We’ll start turning our attention to closing out games better and creating better chances.”

Valor had leads in both games at NAAC this week that ended in ties.

Valor closes out its league schedule against Pomona and Columbine next week, before what could be a monster showdown against Chatfield in a league finale on Tuesday, May 2, on the Eagles’ home turf in Highlands Ranch.

Ralston Valley faces Bear Creek and rival A-West next week before wrapping up its regular season against Lakewood on May 2 at the NAAC.

“I want them to have confidence in what they can do when they put it together for 80 minutes,” Morwood said. “They set goals as a team and they want to get deeper in the playoff then we have in the last little bit.”