LAKEWOOD — Arvada West’s boys soccer team continues to show off its multiple scoring options and impenetrable defense.
The Wildcats — No. 10 in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys soccer rankings — took a 4-0 victory over previously undefeated Bear Creek on Monday at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood.
“This was a super huge game for us,” A-West senior goalie Jacoby Landskov said about the late Monday afternoon win over the Bears. “It felt super nice to come out strong and beat a really good team.”
Arvada West senior goalie Jacoby Landskov is able to just keep the ball out of the goal in the first half Monday. Landskov picked up his third shutout victory of the season in the Wildcats’ 4-0 win over Bear Creek. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
The shutout victory was A-West’s third in as many games. The Wildcats (3-0, 2-0 in 5A Jeffco League) have outscored their opponents 11-0 through the first three games.
Landskov has been in net for all three of the Wildcats’ victories. His best save of the game against Bear Creek (2-1, 2-1) came in the first half when Landskov was just able to keep a spinning shot out of the net when the game was scoreless.
“That’s the goal,” Landskov said of the Wildcats not allowing a goal all season. “We made a bet. The guys said, ‘Jacoby, we’ll pay you $50 if you don’t give up a goal the entire year.’ We are on a roll right now and it’s not just me. Our defense is playing really well right now. They are making my job easy.”
A-West junior Dylan Richards broke the ice in the 31st minute with a direct free-kick that skipped in front of Bear Creek junior goalie Garrett Nelson and into the back of the net. The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
It was Nelson’s first goal of the season. He became the seventh different goal-scorer for A-West this season and it was the first of two goals on the day on direct free-kicks.
Bear Creek sophomore Anthony Montoya (17) races down the field with Arvada West sophomore Josh White (11) during the first half Monday at Trailblazer Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We work on set pieces a lot in practice,” A-West senior captain Kyler Tate said. “We might have got a little lucky on that first goal. We try to score a lot of goals on those set pieces.”
Tate made it a 2-0 lead in the 52nd minute. His goal came off another set piece, a direct free-kick from 27 yards out. It was the second goal of the season for Tate. Senior captain Noah Kanagy picked up his third goal on the season with a strong run before sliding a shot past Nelson to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
“I think we definitely have a deeper team then we did last year,” Tate said. “We are trying to get everyone involved.”
The Wildcats put the game away with a penalty kick goal by senior Karl Pankratz, his first goal of the season, to make it a 4-0 lead. Pankratz became the eighth different player to put one in the back of the net on the season for A-West.
“Other teams should be afraid,” Landskov said. “Our entire team can score. It’s not about locking up one player. We’ve got nine other guys out there that can score.”
A-West is hoping to erase the memories of having a stellar regular season, but falling short in the postseason. The Wildcats were the No. 4 seed in the 5A state tournament in the Fall of 2019, but lost to Rocky Mountain in the second round. In 2018, A-West suffered a tough 1-0 loss to eventual state champion Arapahoe in the second round.
“Definitely a third straight league title is the goal,” Tate said. “We’ve come up a little short (in the playoffs) over the past two years. We think we can do it this year and go all the way.”
Bear Creek senior Kye Quinonez (4) and Arvada West sophomore Luke Schultz (14) battle for a loose ball during the Class 5A Jeffco League game Monday at Trailblazer Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)