Heritage boys soccer upsets No. 1 Ralston Valley at NAAC
ARVADA — Heritage boys soccer scored a stunning victory in dramatic fashion Tuesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
Senior Owen Cozort headed in a corner kick sent in from junior Gavin Fenton in the 77th minute to break a scoreless tie and give Heritage an eventual 1-0 victory over last year’s Class 5A state runner-up, Ralston Valley.
“It was just bouncing in the box and no one was there,” said Cozort, who was positioned at the near post on the corner kick. “I saw my chance and hit it with my head.”
Heritage (3-0 record) came into Tuesday’s match with back-to-back road wins on the Western Slope over Grand Junction and Montrose. The Eagles now have three shutout victories including over Ralston Valley — No. 1 in this week’s ColoradoPreps.com Class 5A boys soccer power rankings.
“It means so much,” Cozort said of the road victory. “We lost to them 1-0 last year in a close game. It means so much to this team. I love this team. I feel like we have great days coming.”
Ralston Valley got a solid 3-1 road victory against No. 5 Fossil Ridge last week to kick off the Mustangs’ season. However, the setback Tuesday was the first loss on the NAAC pitch for Ralston Valley head coach John Doody who took over Ralston Valley’s boys soccer program in the Fall 2023.
“We just couldn’t find the goal,” Doody said. “But give all the credit to Heritage. We knew they would be organized and they are well coached. (Heritage coach Adam Buseck) does a great job. They kept working for their set pieces and found one there at the end.”
Ralston Valley (1-1) had numerous scoring chances, especially in the second half. Senior Dylan Chambers, along with juniors Buddy Pouchot and Sawyer M. Lee all had great scoring chances. Heritage senior goalie Jed Dodge was brilliant in net.
“Amazing play by our keeper Jed,” Cozort said. “I don’t see anyone who can stop us if we keep this up.”
Heritage will face another 5A Jeffco League team in Lakewood on Sept. 1 at Lakewood Memorial Field.
The Mustangs will have a rematch of last season’s 5A state championship game next week. Ralston Valley faces defending state champion Regis Jesuit at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, in Aurora. The Raiders edged the Mustangs 1-0 in overtime in the title game last season.
“We’ve just got to lick our wounds and come back strong for the next one,” Doody said of the first regular-season loss for Ralston Valley since Sept. 10, 2024 against Fairview.
Doody has loaded up the Mustangs’ non-league schedule with the likes of defending 5A state champion Regis, Legacy, Fossil Ridge, Fairview and Arapahoe.
“We get eight days to train,” Doody said of getting ready for the Raiders. “I think that will help with how many young guys we have. We are going to get better because the young guys are going to get more comfortable.”
Doody was proud of his defense that is completely new after being hit hard by graduation. Senior Cody Anderson has taken over the goaltending duties with the graduation of Ben Brown, who had 13 shutouts in net last season.
