Evergreen won the 4A boys soccer championship, taking down The Classical Academy. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
COMMERCE CITY — The Classical Academy had designs on a championship on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. After all, TCA was appearing in its fifth state finals match in the past six years, the Titans’ second straight since moving up to Class 4A.
Fourth-seeded Evergreen had other ideas as they shut down, and even shutout, one of the state’s best offenses during a 1-0 title-winning performance over the No. 2 Titans (18-2). The victory gave the Cougars their second boys soccer crown and first since 1989, the last season of unclassified play in Colorado when Evergreen took out Fort Collins 1-0, as well. They lost to Mullen in the 4A finals in 2011.
For a still youthful team with only four seniors among the 22 who suited up for the playoffs, Evergreen was already powerful, especially defensively. In finishing with a 17-2-1 record, the Cougars posted 10 shutouts, earning their 10th against a team that entered having scored more goals than anyone in 4A.
TCA was averaging five goals a game and had already scored 17 in four postseason contests. They still have never won in the finals.
In the title match, Evergreen, who hadn’t been as high-powered offensively as TCA during the regular season, averaging 2.6 goals a game entering the day, had put in 18 in the playoffs. But, against TCA, the Cougars got back to what they do best, limit scoring opportunities with a talented defense and get timely saves from their goalie.
After 34 minutes of scoreless play, Benner Cochran sent an absolute screamer to the left pocket of the goal to give Evergreen a 1-0 lead just before halftime.
“It was the happiest I’ve ever been after a goal in my entire soccer career,” the junior midfielder said. “It was awesome.”
Then, facing all kinds of pressure from a desperate TCA squad in the second half, especially in the closing minutes, the Cougars’ defense made the plays needed to preserve the win.
“We have a really athletic defensive line and they just did everything they could to keep their fast forwards out of the goal,” Cochran said. “Their star player getting a red card kind of helped us out too, but they did awesome.”
That star player, Titus Grant, a junior forward for the Titans who tallied 29 goals (tied for most in 4A) and 14 assists this season, earned a second yellow card and one-game suspension after a collision with the Standley Lake goalie on a fifty-fifty ball during a 4-1 semifinals win on Wednesday.
The second yellow card was controversial, but Classical Academy still had plenty of weapons in the likes of Jaden Borja (22 goals, 13 assists) and Anders Carlson (11 goals, 7 assists).
While no doubt missing one of the best players in the state made it that much more difficult for TCA to produce a goal, Evergreen’s defense was also just that dominant. And, in goal, junior Logan Westgard had a number of eye-opening saves.
In fact, during the Titans’ last great look at goal with just over three minutes to go, Jeremy Baldes used his speed to break away from an Evergreen defender. Westgard decided to run out to try and snatch the ball in a play that seemed like it could go either way with a goal or a stop. Westgard corralled the ball and Evergreen was able to drain the clock from then on.
Evergreen coach Ross Fowler, in his third year with the program, second as the head coach, says the depth the Cougars possessed in goal this season was a real asset.
“We are ridiculously fortunate as a squad, because we have three goalkeepers,” he said. “Logan was the starting keeper today. Jack Cardillo has had a lot of minutes and has been just as important. Brian Belrose played on our JV.
“It was Logan’s day today. I could’ve put any one of the three in there and I wouldn’t have had any doubts that they were going to get the job done. Logan’s save in the last three minutes was just pure desire, pure bravery.”
Both teams will return nearly everyone in 2016.
“The work and desire of the group that we’ve got, they didn’t want those seniors to leave without a state championship,” Fowler said. “We want to repeat next year.”