Ralston Valley boys soccer shuts out Mountain Vista in playoff opener

ARVADA — Ralston Valley boys soccer’s new-look defensive backline anchored by junior goalie Ben Brown might have been nervous Wednesday night, but they didn’t show it.

The No. 8-seeded Mustangs scored a 2-0 shutout win over No. 25 Mountain Vista in the opening round of the Class 5A state tournament at the North Area Athletic Complex, advancing Ralston Valley to next week’s round of 16.

“I would defintely say there were nerves,” Brown said of getting his first-ever postseason start in net. “Looking back at the miracle run Evan Bierman made the past two seasons, living up to that pressure is something that I’m embracing.”

Bierman was the goalie for Ralston Valley during its state semifinal run in 2022 and quarterfinal run last year with an experienced group of defenders in front of him. It’s a different story this year with Brown in net and a handful of young players as the last line of defense for Ralston Valley.

“It has been a lot of growing and we’ve had a lot of injuries back there this year,” Ralston Valley coach John Doody said of his defensive. “We have finally settled. I’m very proud of them. I think that might have been Ben’s best match this whole season.”

Brown was credited with three saves against Mountain Vista (8-7-1 record) as he picked up his sixth shutout win of the season. 

“After we lost to Fairview I really felt like we’ve turned it on,” Brown said of the Mustangs’ play in the defensive half. 

The Knights took a 4-3 victory over the Mustangs back on Sept. 10. Ralston Valley has allowed just five goals in its past 10 games, including six shutout victories, since the loss to Fairview. 

Ralston Valley (10-3-3) entered the postseason edging No. 7-seeded Columbine (14-1-1) for the 5A Jeffco League title to give Ralston Valley back-to-back conference titles under its second-year coach.

Mountain Vista finished in a 3-way tie for fourth in the 5A/4A Continental League. That conference had six teams advance to the 32-team 5A state tournament. 

With legendary coach Theresa Echtermeyer, who has won seven girls soccer state titles as a coach at Green Mountain and Mountain Vista over the past three decades, the Mustangs knew the Golden Eagles were a dangerous first-round foe.

“We came into this game say (Mountain Vista) is not a No. 25 ranked team,” Doody said. “We came in with our eyes wide-open. Mad respect for Theresa. I watched her beat our girls at DU (state semifinals) in the spring season. I didn’t want a repeat of that for sure.”

Ralston Valley looked to its usually big-game scorer — senior Cooper Hineline — after a scoreless first half. Hineline put in his 19th and 20th goals on the season into the back of the net in the 45th and 50th minutes to give the Mustangs the lead they needed.

“It was definitely frustrating at first,” Hineline said of the scoreless first half. “I thought (Doody) did a really good job of not freaking us out at halftime. He made sure we came out hard in the second half.”

Seniors Hunter Byrne and Aidan Castillo picked up the assists on Hineline’s goals.

“(Mountain Vista) wasn’t easy to breakdown. The first half we weren’t executing that well either,” Doody said. “After Cooper scored that really settled down. I thought we played really well in the second half.”

Ralston Valley will face No. 25 Grandview in the second round Tuesday, Nov. 5, back at the NAAC. The Wolves upset No. 9 Fairview 1-0 in double overtime up in Boulder on Wednesday night.