AURORA | Playoff intensity was in the air at Aurora Public Schools Stadium Thursday night, but neither Aurora Central or Rangeview could find a way to come out on top in the key battle.
The Trojans and Raiders, both heavily in the chase for the East Metro Athletic Conference league championship, played to a 0-0 draw after two halves and two overtime periods on a chilly night where scoring chances were few and far between for two high-scoring teams.
Even with the tie, coach Ken Wu’s Aurora Central squad leads all Aurora teams with nine victories and maintained its spot atop the EMAC standings at 5-0-1, with Rangeview just behind at 4-0-2.
“We’re in the lead, but it looks like we have played some of the easier teams in the league, so I don’t feel we can comfortable at all at this point,” said Wu, whose team had won six straight games since its only loss (a 3-0 defeat to Longmont on Sept. 21).
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position, but nothing to be comfortable about yet,” he added.”
The Trojans came into the game averaging nearly five goals per game, but failed to score for only the second time in 11 contests as Rangeview goalkeepers Jose Helguera Lopez and Sean Harcrow combined to stop all six shots they faced.
The Raiders (7-3-2 overall, 4-0-2 in league) put 14 shots on goal, including four by senior forward Michael Johnson, but failed to score for the third time in 12 games. The tie extended Rangeview’s unbeaten streak to seven games since a 3-0 loss to Mountain Vista on Sept. 11, a streak that includes five wins and two ties.
“It really wasn’t a pretty soccer game, the pressure was high and the intensity was high,” Raiders coach Vic Strouse said. “I though it was two evenly matched teams…In the overtime I thought we had more possession and forcing it, but you’ve got to score. That’s the bottom line.”
Aurora Central has a difficult remaining schedule with Hinkley (8-4, 4-2) and Adams City (5-5-1, 3-3-1) among its final games, while Rangeview also has two difficult games left with Westminster (8-4, 4-2) and Gateway (5-6-1, 4-1-1).
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
AURORA CENTRAL 0, RANGEVIEW 0 (2OT)
Score by halves:
Rangeview 0 0 0 0 — 0
Aur. Central 0 0 0 0 — 0
Rangeview saves: Jose Helguera Lopez (4 shots on goal-4 saves), Sean Harcrow (2 shots on goal-2 saves)