AURORA | Now is the time for Centennial League girls soccer teams to build some momentum.
Unfortunately for Eaglecrest and Grandview, nothing stems momentum more than a tie.
Both rivals had their chances when they got together Tuesday evening at Legacy Stadium, but the Raptors and Wolves finished in a 1-1 tie after 100 minutes of tight play.
Eaglecrest’s Alexis Miller and Grandview’s Brooke Tasker scored goals six minutes apart in the second half and both keepers — Raptors’ freshman Rylee Atteberry and Wolves’ senior Maddie Lesjak — kept the goal clean the rest of the way as the teams tied for the second straight season. (Photo gallery, here.)
“I thought it was a good rivalry game; we both had our chances and it went back and forth,” said Eaglecrest coach Greg Watts, whose team came away 7-2-1 overall and 1-1-1 in league.
“It was like two heavyweights slugging it out the whole way,” he added.
In part because of the play of Lesjak and an aggressive defense, Raptors’ goal-scoring machine Korena Perales — who had hat tricks in each of her previous two games — failed to score a goal for only the second time all season.
Perales did play a part in Eaglecrest’s goal, however, earning her seventh assist when she drew out Lesjak and a crowd of defenders and slipped the ball to Miller, who dribble to her left and buried the ball in the open net in the 59th minute.
On the other end of the field, Atteberry continued her stellar play in the nets and stopped seven of the eight shots against her, including several diving saves.
Tasker, an Oregon-bound midfielder who had been victimized by a couple of Atteberry stops earlier in the game, finally netted only the second goal against the freshman in 442 minutes this season with a big hit from about 20 yards out that got in under the crossbar for her fourth goal of the season.
“It was a little frustrating; she played well,” Tasker said of Atteberry.
Grandview coach Tari Wood lauded the play of Atteberry in the net, but also felt good about coming away with a tie while missing a number of player who competed in an ECNL tournament in San Diego two days earlier, forcing some shuffling of the lineup.
The Wolves (5-3-2, 0-2-1) could have used a win, however, as they’d lost their first two Centennial League games to Cherry Creek (2-0) and Arapahoe (1-0 in overtime) despite playing well.
“I think we could be 3-0 in league if things had gone a little bit different,” Wood said. “I think we’re fine. We’re not in a position we want to be, but it’s not a horrible spot. …The game of soccer can be cruel. One of these days, things will go our way.”
Notes: Following the Eaglecrest-Grandview game, Smoky Hill and Cherokee Trail also went to overtime at Legacy Stadium. The Buffaloes emerged with a 1-0 victory as sophomore Sam Howshar scored the winning goal with less than two minutes left in the first extra session off a free kick attempt.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
EAGLECREST 1, GRANDVIEW 1 (2OT)
Score by halves:
Grandview 0 1 0 0 — 1
Eaglecrest 0 1 0 0 — 1
SCORING
Second half
Eaglecrest — Alexis Miller (Korena Perales), 59th minute
Grandview — Brooke Tasker, 65th minute
Goalkeepers — Eaglecrest: Rylee Atteberry (8 shots on goal-7 saves)
