AURORA | Overtime has become the comfort zone for the Rangeview boys soccer team.
Much to head coach Vic Strouse’s chagrin, the Raiders have needed sudden death to decide three of their past four contests, but they’ve come through every time in the clutch, which is part of the reason they remain unbeaten.
Fernando Chavez finished a chance with five minutes in the second overtime Saturday to give Rangeview a 3-2 non-league victory over visiting Eaglecrest that pushed the Raiders to an Aurora-best 9-0 on the season.
Troy Hudson and Kyler Iacino also scored for Rangeview — both on set pieces on passes from Alex Amador — which twice rallied from goal deficits to beat the Raptors, who had won the past two meetings between the teams.
Senior Gunnar Dickey tallied both goals for coach Greg Watts’ Eaglecrest team, which dropped to 5-4.
Rangeview posted back-to-back overtime wins against Northglenn on Sept. 19 and Thornton on Sept. 24 and found itself trailing by a single goals in each half.
Iacino scored his team-high seventh goal to tie the game in the first half on a perfect header off an Amador serve on a corner kick.
Omar Sandoval’s long free kick try ricocheted around in the Rangeview end, bounced off the goal post and came to Dickey, who headed it into the net for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
The Raptors’ lead held under just over four minutes remained in regulation when Amador placed a corner kick in perfect position in traffic in front of the Eaglecrest goal. Hudson got his head on it and slipped it past Eaglecrest goalkeeper Blend Avdili for his sixth goal of the season.
For the remaining minutes of regulation and both overtimes, Rangeview had the most dangerous chances.
Jose Martinez had a header chance in the first overtime that went high and another opportunity was whistled offside.
Midway through the second overtime, Chavez streaked in from the right wing and passed across to Jack Ramirez, who volleyed the ball back across the goal to Chavez, who finished the bang-bang play for the game-winner.
The past three games between the teams had all ended in 1-0 scores, with Rangeview winning in 2010 and Eaglecrest taking the 2011 and 2012 contests.
RANGEVIEW 3, EAGLECREST 2 (2OT)
Score by halves:
Eaglecrest 1 1 0 0 — 2
Rangeview 1 1 0 1 — 3
Rangeview goals: Fernando Chavez, Troy Hudson, Kyler Iacino; Eaglecrest goals: GunnarDickey 2; Rangeview assists: Alex Amador 2, Jack Ramirez; Eaglecrest assist: Garrett Dickey
