Mountain Vista upends No. 1 Ralston Valley in 5A girls soccer quarterfinal

ENGLEWOOD — Guess who’s back, back again?

Mountain Vista’s girls soccer team punched its ticket Monday night to the semifinals of the Class 5A state tournament. The No. 8-seeded Mountain Vista Golden Eagles eliminated top-seed Ralston Valley with a 1-0 victory at Englewood High School.

“I really think in this tournament there are a lot of teams that can make it into the finals,” Mountain Vista coach Theresa Echtermeyer said. “There are so many good soccer players in Colorado and a lot of parity. It makes the tournament really exciting.”

Mountain Vista lost in the state quarterfinals a year ago, ending the Golden Eagles shot to repeat as state champions for the first time in the program’s history. Echtermeyer has guided Mountain Vista to five 5A state titles — 2005, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2024 — during her decorated high school coaching career. 

It will be the Golden Eagles’ second appearance in the state semifinals over the past three seasons.

“They are always organized,” Ralston Valley coach Kamee Morwood said of Mountain Vista, who defeated the Mustangs two years ago in the semifinals. “They are big. They are strong. They are experienced in all of these moments. You have to give them credit. They played a really good game.”

Sophomore Emi Marlow scored the lone goal of the game in the final minutes of the opening half. Marlow was in the right place at the right time and one-timed a shot past Ralston Valley senior goalie Maddie King in the 37th minute.

“I came in on the six (position) for the first time this season,” Marlow said of the goal where she moved up into the play to get the loose ball that was headed by Ralston Valley junior Santana Sabus on an attempted clear. “I just wanted to put it into the back of the net.”

It was the first goal of the season for the sophomore.

“All playoff games are about opportunities. Both teams had lots of opportunities,” Echtermeyer said. “I just think we capitalize on the right one.”

Ralston Valley (12-3-3 record) came in with the Sabus cousins — juniors Lauren and Santana — having scored 15 goals each this season. Mountain Vista freshman Anna Mathelier did a good job of marking Lauren on the outside and senior Brooke Moody kept Santana in check.

“When you face players that are that dominate on the pitch you have to know where they are at all times,” Echtermeyer said of the Golden Eagles focusing on shutting down the Sabus cousins.

Mountain Vista sophomore Molly Gaffney got the shutout win in net.

“What had been working for us wasn’t working tonight,” said Morwood after the Mustangs took a 9-0 win over Monarch in the opening round and 4-1 victory over Chaparral in the second round. “We seemed one step slow. One step behind from the beginning. Those are things really hard to change when you are playing such a great team.”

Ralston Valley will return several key players from its 12-win squad. The Mustangs have advanced to at least the quarterfinals each of the past three seasons, including a semifinal appearance in 2024.

“You hope that they all band together and choose to play,” Morwood said of next season. “Continue this playoff run we’ve had the past three years that we haven’t done in a while. Hopefully this motivates them to come out and now be the leaders.”

Joining Mountain Vista in the semifinals at the University of Denver on Thursday, May 14, will be No. 13 Valor Christian, No. 3 Castle View and No. 2 Fossil Ridge. 

Castle View defeated Columbine 1-0 at the other semifinal site at Highlands Ranch Stadium at Redstone. Fossil Ridge grabbed a 3-0 shutout win over Cherry Creek. Castle View and Fossil Ridge will face each other in one semifinal Thursday.

Mountain Vista will take on Valor in the other semifinal. Valor won in overtime 2-1 against Rock Canyon in the nightcap at Englewood High School.