Ralston Valley junior Han Trznadel (2) is flanked by Bear Creek’s Charlie Petersen, left, and Farzad Asgari on Tuesday during a 2-1 win for the Mustangs. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LAKEWOOD — Ralston Valley’s boys soccer season is literally headed in the right direction.
A pair of header goals off the noggins of Ralston Valley junior Han Trznadel and senior Fredi Muteba gave the Mustangs a 2-1 victory Tuesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field.
The Class 5A Jeffco League win over Bear Creek (8-4, 2-2 in league) kept Ralston Valley (8-3, 4-0) perfect in conference play and pushed its winning streak to five games.
“Each game is a big step for us. It’s one more step toward playoffs,” Ralston Valley coach Jamie Scarcliff said. “I wouldn’t say today was our best day, but we battled through and made sure it worked out on our end. We’ve got a few things to tighten up to get ready for the end of league.”
Ralston Valley took an early 1-0 lead when Trznadel popped a header from close range over the reach of Bear Creek junior goalie Cooper Erickson in the 10th minute. It was the lone goal of the first half.
The Mustangs had a handful of chances to extend their lead, but it wasn’t until the 64th minute could Ralston Valley get an insurance goal. Muteba headed in a rebound that had ripped off the crossbar to put the Mustangs up 2-0.
“Fredi’s goal was really big,” Trznadel said. “We haven’t had too many header goals. I’ve had two, but not quite as sweet as Fredi’s. He put a lot of power into it.”
Muteba’s goal became even more important a minute later when Bear Creek junior Kim Liam tipped in the Bears’ lone goal of the game in the 65th minute to make it a one-goal game again.
“Sometimes it gets a little slowed down,” Ralston Valley junior goalie Jared Peterson said. “Sometimes we forget what got us here and we slow down.”
Peterson was solid in net for the final 15 minutes to hang on for the victory. The win keep pace with defending conference champion and chief rival Arvada West (9-3, 4-0).
Ralston Valley senior Erik Makic (9) tries to get a shot off before Bear Creek senior Farzad Asgari closes in. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
If Ralston Valley and A-West take care of business in league games this Thursday and next Monday, the two could face each other in a winner-take-all league championship game at 5 p.m. Oct. 14, at the North Area Athletic Complex.
“You always think about it because (A-West) is our biggest rival and it’s our biggest game,” Peterson said. “We’ll keep it in our sideview, but focus on what is in front of us.”
Ralston Valley has home games at NAAC against Chatfield (5 p.m. Thursday) and Columbine (7 p.m. Oct. 10) before the potential conference title game against A-West.
Erickson knows a league title for the Bears is pretty much out of reach after Bear Creek suffered its second straight league loss, but he also knows there is a good chance the Bears can still make the 32-team field for the state tournament.
“It would take a stroke of luck to win league now,” Erickson said. “I still believe in this team and we still believe in ourselves. We are a team that can play in the state tournament this year.”
Bear Creek closes out its regular season against Columbine, Lakewood and Pomona over the next 10 days.
“We just have to train hard and come out fighting in our last couple of games,” Erickson said.
Bear Creek senior Akash Malil, middle, is coverage by a trio of Ralston Valley player near the Mustangs’ goal Tuesday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)