AURORA — Broomfield forward Tyler Hulst found himself with the ball 25 yards out.
There were two minutes, 22 seconds to play in overtime in a 1-1 Class 5A boys soccer semifinal tussle with Fairview. Hulst had a good look at net and crushed it over the head of Knight goalie Alex Ray. The goal gave long-time 4A power Broomfield, a four-time state champion in the sport, a crack at its first 5A title after moving up a class this season.
Broomfield’s Tyler Hulst. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
“I didn’t even get to see the goal, because I fell over,” Hulst said. “I’m just a little starstruck though. I don’t think it’s hit me yet that we’re in the final.”
“Tyler just received that ball and found himself able to work in a little bit of space,” Broomfield coach Jim Davidson said. “He got himself squared to the goal and I think he caught the keeper a little bit off his line. He just took his chance and it was an absolute cracker.”
In a game mostly controlled by Broomfield and their nearly impenetrable defense in the playoffs, the 12th-seeded Eagles held a 1-0 advantage off a Tyler Duggan header late in the opening half.
But No. 8 Fairview struck back on a Casey Munch header goal of his own in the 71st minute.
“They had the free kick and we dealt with the first ball, but then we sat on our heels and we just didn’t step our line,” Davidson said of the late goal by Fairview. “We gave them two more looks to serve that ball in. The initial runner was offsides according to the official, but the player who that ball was played onto was not. I think it was a legitimate goal that they scored.”
In the end, Broomfield’s defense, after giving up their first goal of the playoffs, tightened up once again, giving Hulst his chance in the spotlight.
“It’s a big moment for the program,” Davidson said. “We always had extremely high expectations when we were in 4A. We knew playing in the Front Range League was going to be an adjustment knowing the depth of the league, but our kids have obviously handled it well. I think our kids have done extremely well to be competitive.”
Boulder seeks second title in three years
Boulder’s boys soccer team celebrates its semifinal win on Wednesday night. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — The Boulder boys soccer team can almost taste it. After an impressive 2-0 win over Smoky Hill in the 5A semifinals Wednesday night at Legacy Stadium in Aurora, the Panthers will be looking for their second state championship in three years on Saturday.
They captured their first state title in the sport in 2012 over Smoky Hill.
In the semis, Boulder, showing the poise of a program making their fourth semifinals appearance in the past five years, displayed offensive firepower with a number of creative runs. A first half goal by Matthew Radzihovsky and a second half goal by Jamie Astorga off a beautiful cross by Samuel Kirk showed the power of Boulder’s attack.
More critical to the team’s success Wednesday though was how they would withstand a Smoky Hill attack that had scored more goals than any other in the state.
At a clip of 4.1 goals-per-game and led by 2013 5A player of the year Kevin Del Mazo, a midfielder, and talented forward Walter Prince, the Buffaloes had numerous scoring chances, but were never able to find the back of the net.
Boulder goalkeeper Leo Huettel had eight saves, all of them of vital importance against such a talented Smoky offense. To Boulder High fans, the last name Huettel has become synonymous with success in goal. Leo’s older brother Henry, a 2014 grad, was the goalkeeper during Boulder’s 2012 state championship run.
“Leo, this is his first year,” Boulder coach Hardy Kalisher said of his senior goalie’s first season out for soccer.
“He comes from a strong soccer family,” Kalisher said. “His brothers were all-state soccer players for Boulder High. Leo came out. I said great, you can be the third string goalkeeper. It turned out that we lost our two other goalkeepers to other activities. We found out the night before our first game that he would be the starting goalie. Even before that he came up to me and said, ‘Coach I want to be the starting goalie.’
“He trained hard every night and really put together one of the top goalkeeping performances I’ve seen in a semifinals match. He made big saves, no doubt about it. He really earned that shut out tonight.”
Leo, whose brother Henry is an assistant this year for Boulder, was ecstatic about carrying on the family tradition and helping his team earn another appearance in the state title match.
“He’s been there with me every step of the way,” Leo said of Henry. “He’s the best coach I could ever ask for. He pushes me really hard. It’s really meant the world.”
Huettel and his teammates, who are unbeaten in their last 18 games (15-0-3), take on fellow Boulder County power Broomfield in the 5A state championship game on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Game time is 3:30 p.m.