Golden boys soccer remains hot with 9-game winning streak

LAKEWOOD — Golden boys soccer prevented rival Wheat Ridge the Class 4A Jeffco League title Tuesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field.

“None of us really talked about it,” Golden junior Kieran Baker said of having the chance to deny Wheat Ridge a third straight league crown. “It was all in the back of our heads. We didn’t want them to get it again.”

Wheat Ridge was attempting to win a third straight conference title, but the Demons took a 3-0 victory in the league finale for both teams. A victory for the Farmers (11-2-1, 8-2 in league) would have given Wheat Ridge the league title.

It was the third straight season Golden and Wheat Ridge had matched up in the final league game with the conference title on the line. In 2022 Wheat Ridge won 4-2 to take the title. A year ago a 1-1 tie handed the Farmers the conference title. 

Up the hill at the same time Tuesday night at Conifer High School, Evergreen defeated rival Conifer 3-0 in the other conference game that decided the league champion. 

Evergreen (11-3, 9-1) and Golden (9-3-3, 9-1) finished tied in the conference standings, but the Cougars’ head-to-head 2-0 win over the Demons on Sept. 16 gave Evergreen the tiebreak to claim the 4A Jeffco League title.

It’s Evergreen’s first boys soccer league since 2015, the same season the Cougars won the 4A state championship. 

“A win tonight was big for us just in terms of seeding,” Golden coach Jamie Scarcliff said. “Hopefully we will get a home game for our first playoff game.”

The Demons were No. 17 in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index after the victory. The top-16 seeds in the 4A state tournament get first-round home games. 

While Golden didn’t come away with the league title, the Demons are without question one of the hottest teams heading into next week’s 4A 32-team state tournament. Golden is riding a 9-game winning streak where it has outscored its opponents 60-1. 

“We defintely are on a good streak,” Scarcliff said after the eighth shutout victory over the Demons’ 9-game winning streak. “We didn’t take care of that first (league) game against Evergreen. Hopefully we have learned from our mistakes and are building off of that.”

Golden jumped out to 1-0 lead in the 15th minute on a perfectly placed free kick by Baker. Senior Cameron White headed the ball into the back of the net to grab the lead.

“I usually just hit it into the box, but I saw Cam’s blond hair and put it right on his head,” Baker said of the precise free kick on White’s goal.

It was White’s first goal of the season. The senior had missed the last several games due to injury.

“That was fantastic. Cam (White) is coming back from a 5-week injury. I think that was huge for him,” Scarcliff said. “It was a great ball and a great finish. That kind of got us in the right mentality and gave us momentum going forward.”

White got the Demons’ student section in the stands fired up with a acrobatic flip near the stands after the go-ahead goal.

“I was manifesting it the whole day,” White said of his celebration flip after his first goal of the season. “If I scored I was going to the corner and do a flip. I was so excited.”

Junior Dylan Ziegenfuss pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 26th minute on a line-drive shot that got past Wheat Ridge goalie Drew Miller.

Baker did the work to score midway through the second half. The junior was taken down in the Farmers’ goal box in the 60th minute and was awarded a penalty kick. Baker took the PK and drove in home for a 3-0 lead.

Golden goalie Garett Kula picked up the shutout victory in net for the Demons, who know wait around to see how the 4A state tournament is bracketed over the weekend.

“Everyone is just more prideful and playing together,” Baker said of the Demons turnaround after a rough 0-3-3 start to the season. 

Despite the winning streak, Scarcliff knows the postseason is a different monster heading into next week.

“We have to be prepared for any team to come back at us,” Scarcliff said of as the Demons enter the postseason with the second longest winning streak in 4A.

Only Greeley Central has a longer winning streak at 10 games.