Ralston Valley heading back to the Class 5A boys soccer state semifinals - CHSAA
By Google News Sports ·
ARVADA — Ralston Valley senior Dylan Chambers solved the puzzle that was Grand Junction goalie Noah Newbury on Saturday afternoon at the North Area Athletic Complex.
Chambers scored the lone goal of the Class 5A boys soccer state quarterfinal game in the 61st minute to give the Mustangs a 1-0 victory.
“I was just waiting for the chance to happen,” Chambers said of his eventual game-winning goal midway through the second half. “When I saw it come to me I knew I had to capitalize. I knew what was at stake.”
No. 6-seeded Ralston Valley had a number of chances, but Newbury was brilliant in net until Chambers finally scored in the second half. The Mustangs was able to swing the ball over to Chambers to set up a one-on-one with Newbury.
“I trust Dylan 100 percent there,” said Ralston Valley senior Connor Jachimiak, who had the final pass to get the ball over to Chambers. “I thought he had the best chance to score than anyone else. Just wanted to get him the ball and let him do this thing.”
Chambers dribbled right at Newbury before sliding a shot into the back of the net.
“I was going to kind of bait him inside,” Chambers said of the move he made one-on-one with Newbury. “I knew he was going to step to my right, so I cut in and it opened up and I slotted it.”
Ralston Valley (11-4-3 record) will face the winner of No. 7 Denver North and No. 2 Valor Christian in the 5A semifinals Tuesday, Nov. 10, at University of Denver’s CIBER Field. The Vikings and Eagles were scheduled for a 3 p.m. start in their quarterfinal game in Highlands Ranch on Saturday.
“We are going to get someone that we’ve played already. We know that,” Ralston Valley coach John Doody said of the match-up against either Denver North or Valor Christian. “We’ll be excited for either game. We are just proud and excited to be in another state semifinal.”
Ralston Valley has become a perennial 5A state contender. The Mustangs have advanced to at least the state quarterfinals over the last five seasons. They nearly grabbed the program’s first state championship a season ago, but lost in overtime to Regis Jesuit.
“It means so much,” Jachimiak said. “Getting to back-to-back state semifinals shows how much we’ve been working in practice. It’s good to see the work has paid off.”
Grand Junction (12-5-1) was the Cinderella story in the 5A boys soccer postseason. The No. 19-seeded Tigers got shutout victories against No. 14 Fort Collins and No. 3 Erie on the road to advance to the quarterfinals as the lowest remaining seed in the 5A state tournament.
The Tigers started the season with a 1-4 record, but came into Saturday’s game on a 12-game unbeaten streak.
“Give credit to a Western Slope program,” Doody said. “When was the last time a Western Slope team was in the 5A state quarterfinals? They came out here and give us everything they had. I’m so impressed by their side.”
It looked like the Tigers tied things up 1-1 in the 67th minute. Senior Camron Rogers was able to tap in a corner kick, but the officials ruled an unintentional hand ball by Rogers disallowed the goal since the senior defender was the one who kicked the ball into the goal.
If any other Grand Junction player would have kicked the ball into the net besides Rogers the goal would have been allowed, by rule.
“There was so many bodies. I don’t know how the refs saw anything,” Jachimiak said of the handling call that disallowed the goal. “It was a wake-up call for us. They really didn’t get another chance the whole…
Originally published by Google News Sports
