Golden boys soccer slides into 4A state quarterfinals after win over Glenwood Springs

ARVADA — Golden is going to get a crack at top-seeded Mullen in the Class 4A boys soccer state quarterfinals Saturday, Nov. 8.

In the battle of the Demons — the mascot for both Golden and Glenwood Springs is the Demons — Golden grabbed a 4-2 victory in the second round of the 4A state tournament Wednesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. 

“Mullen is a strong team. They have a good program over there,” Golden coach David Perez said with the task of facing the Mustangs, who hold a 15-1-1 record. “We just have to go in and play our game. If we play our game we can contend with anybody. We’ll see what we can put together and see what happens Saturday.”

The Mustangs defeated No. 16 Regis Groff 4-1 in an afternoon tilt on Wednesday at Mullen High School. The highest seed gets to host through the quarterfinals, so Golden (12-2-3 record) will have to travel to play on Mullen’s grass field on its campus this weekend.

Mullen’s lone loss this season was against Cherry Creek. The Bruins are the No. 2 seed in the 5A state tournament. The Mustangs also has a tie against Cherokee Trail, who advanced to the 5A quarterfinals as the No. 12 seed Tuesday night. Mullen finished second in the 5A/4A Centennial League.

“I don’t think there is any reason why we shouldn’t beat them,” Golden sophomore MacEwan Baker said of facing the top-seeded Mustangs on their home field. “As long as we play our hardest, keep our heads and play our game.”

Golden extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games. The Demons won the tight 4A Jeffco League this season with an 8-0-2 record. However, No. 24 Glenwood Springs (6-8-2) came in with plenty of confidence after knocking off No. 9 Niwot last week.

“(Glenwood Springs) pulled out the win against Niwot. It doesn’t matter your record. They were in it for the long run,” Perez said of No. 24-seed Glenwood Springs attempt to move into the quarterfinals as a Cinderella. “We made a few mistakes to concede a couple of goals, but that’s the game.”

There were no shortage of first-half goals in the battle of Demons. Golden took a 3-2 lead going into halftime. Baker put in a pair of goals scoring in the 3rd and 33rd minutes. Baker’s first goal was on a penalty kick.

“I think it was really important,” Baker said of his early goal after Glenwood Springs was called for handling off a Golden corner kick. “We are good at drawing fouls and being dangerous in the box. We needed to start the game on a good note.”

Baker’s second goal gave Golden the 3-2 lead going into halftime.

Glenwood Springs actually took a 2-1 lead with goals from freshman Anderson Orellana (14th minute) and senior Jewish Hernandez (19th minute).

“I still knew we were going to win,” Baker said of Glenwood Springs scoring back-to-back goals in the span of five minutes. “We react pretty well to every goal. We kept our heads, which was good.”

Golden answered with a goal from its leading scorer — sophomore Bertel Ellegaard — in the 25th minute. Baker’s second goal of the first half put the No. 8-seeded Demons up 3-2 at the break. 

Golden sophomore Yadin Deprang was able to put in an insurance goal in the 69th minute to give the home Demons a 4-2 advantage.

“We came back, battled and stayed in the fight,” Perez said of Golden scoring the final three goals to take the victory.

Mullen and Golden will be joined by No. 13 Evergreen, No. 12 Cheyenne Mountain, No. 6 Greeley Central, No. 3 Battle Mountain, No. 10 Air Academy and No. 2 Silver Creek in the 4A quarterfinals that are all scheduled to be played Saturday, Nov. 8.