Wheat Ridge players celebrate their 2-1 victory over Evergreen on Friday at Lakewood Memorial Field. The Farmers are two wins away from an undefeated 4A Jeffco League season and conference championship. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — A pair of free kicks Friday by Wheat Ridge freshman Alexandra Nillen put the Farmers’ girls soccer program firmly in the driver’s seat of the Class 4A Jeffco League.
Wheat Ridge, ranked No. 8 in the latest CHSAANow.com 4A poll, took a 2-1 victory against No. 7 Evergreen at Lakewood Memorial Field in the showdown that likely determined the conference champion.
Wheat Ridge junior Carlee Flanagan (6) elevates for a header during the first half Friday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss)
Nillen scored on a direct free kick in the 45th minute in the second half to break a scoreless tie. Another set piece started by Nillen with a free kick found the foot of junior Carlee Flanagan in the 54th minute for the eventual game-winning goal.
“I was planning on going far post and Carlee just happened to be there. It was a great finish by her,” said Nillen, who leads the Farmers with 10 goals and also has four assists.
Flanagan’s game-winner was her fourth goal of the season. The junior praised Nillen and her free kick that answered Evergreen’s goal in the 49th minute from sophomore Zoe Peterson on a direct free kick that tied the game at 1-1.
“That ball from Alex (Nillen) was beyond perfect,” Flanagan said. “Everyone was moving. Everyone was ready to go. I just happened to be right there on the back post for her beautiful ball. It was just perfect.”
Perfect is how Wheat Ridge (9-2, 5-0 in league) can finish out conference play next week. The Farmers face Arvada and Alameda next week where they can complete an unblemished league record.
Wheat Ridge and Evergreen (6-3-2, 3-1-1) both hadn’t given up a goal in league play. The Farmers edged D’Evelyn 1-0 earlier in the week. The Cougars battled Green Mountain for 100 minutes before ending an in 0-0 tie on Wednesday.
A scoreless first half Friday in the conference showdown wasn’t much of a surprise. Both teams combining for three goals in the span of nine minutes in the second half was a little of out character for the defensively strong teams.
“Something needed to happen to get the game going a little bit. That first goal, Alex’s brilliant free kick lifted everybody up,” Wheat Ridge coach Dan Watkins said. “The intensity of the game got more into a league championship type game.”
Watkins has had no problem putting the weight on Nillen’s shoulders of taking those key free kicks on scoring chances. The Farmers are on a six-game winning streak where they have outscored their opponents 15-1.
“Stepping in as a freshman. Technically she is very, very solid,” Watkins said of Nillen. “We’ve asked her to kind of come in and hit those balls. She is very confident and that is a great characteristic as a freshman.”
Wheat Ridge junior Roma Sandburg (10) and Evergreen junior Jahna Pusedu (4) battle for a ball Friday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss)
Wheat Ridge’s last loss was to Mullen before spring break.
“We’ve just come together as a team a lot more,” Flanagan said of the change over the past month. “We have learned to move the ball a lot better and finish.”
Wheat Ridge’s next game on the pitch is a non-league test on the road against Silver Creek at 4 p.m. April 21.
“We’ve got a great balance going forward toward playoffs,” Watkins said. “We want to make sure we finish off the league season right.”
Evergreen will face rival Conifer on the Lobos’ home field April 22, before concluding its league schedule against Golden at 4 p.m. April 24, at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada.
The Cougars have a 0-2-1 record in their past three games, but Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said the focus is to just improve in some areas before heading into the postseason.
“These are all good teams. We kind of beat each other up,” Jeans said of the 4A Jeffco League. “We have to defend set pieces better. We did have other chances to score. We didn’t make the most of our opportunities.”
With the top three 4A Jeffco teams earning automatic berths into the 32-team state tournament, it looks like Wheat Ridge, Evergreen and Green Mountain should lock up postseason tickets.
Wheat Ridge soccer players (left to right) Shelly Browne, Carlee Flanagan, Carolyn Swanson and Susan Whitney celebrate a goal from Flanagan in the 54th minute Friday at Lakewood Memorial Field. The Farmers took a 2-1 victory against Evergreen to extend their winning streak to six games. (Dennis Pleuss)