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PREP ROUNDUP: No. 23 Roaring Fork stuns No. 7 The Academy, No. 15 Coal Ridge falls to No. 2 Kent Denver

Roaring Fork's Mikel Mayo (15) tries to get past two defending The Academy players during Tuesday afternoon's matchup at the Broomfield Commons. Roaring Fork won 2-0 in an upset. (COLIN LAIRD)

Traveling to Broomfield on Tuesday afternoon for a 3A Colorado High School Activities Association second-round state playoff game against the No. 7 The Academy Wildcats, the No. 23 Roaring Fork Rams’ boys soccer team pulled off the upset.

Playing at the Broomfield Commons sports complex, the Rams won by a score of 2-0 to advance to the Great Eight of the 3A state playoff bracket.

Senior Marcos Ramos started the scoring for the Rams with a goal in the 23rd minute off of an assist from fellow senior Hassan Vallejo to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. Strong defensive containment allowed Roaring Fork to take the lead into the half on the road.



The Wildcats came out more aggressive in the second half, but junior Liam Laird stretched the Roaring Fork lead to 2-0 off of an assist from junior Jorge Sandoval in the 72nd minute. Continued strong defense, and four second-half saves by junior goalkeeper Leo Loya aided the Rams in the upset win over the Wildcats.

Loya stood tall in net, including a diving save on a penalty kick in the 88th minute that kept things in check. The back-line defense — missing senior captain Edwin Candela — helped stymie the Wildcat attack.



Getting a number of contributions from reserves in the second round of the playoffs also propelled the Rams to the upset win.

“I kind of came in knowing that we would have a fighting chance against this team, and we didn’t feel like much of an underdog,” Roaring Fork Head Coach Nick Forbes said. “This team we came in against was very disciplined and played great defense, but any time we get a goal we have a fighting chance. And that’s the philosophy we have to take into the next round against Kent Denver.”

The win over the Wildcats sets up a Great Eight matchup Saturday afternoon with the No. 2 Kent Denver Sun Devils at Kent Stadium. Game time has been set for 2 p.m.

This will be the first time the Rams will get a shot at playing the Sun Devils under Forbes’ direction.

“It’s a privilege to get a chance to play the three-time state champions and that’s a testament to our boys and all the hard work they put in this summer,” Forbes said.

TITANS DROP HEARTBREAKER TO SUN DEVILS

On the road Tuesday afternoon for a second-round matchup with the No. 2 Kent Denver Sun Devils, the No. 15 Coal Ridge Titans’ boys soccer team dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision, marking the second time in two years the Titans have fallen the Sun Devils in a one-goal game.

Kent Denver scored the lone goal of the game on a free kick from just outside the box with just nine minutes left in the game, which proved to be all the Sun Devils would need.

The loss ends a great season for the Titans, who won the 3A Western Slope League championship with a young team under veteran head coach Michael Mikalakis.

“We talked [after the game] about keeping our heads up and being proud of the accomplishments for the season,” Mikalakis said. “We really played great in the game.”

With the loss to Kent Denver, Coal Ridge finishes the season 13-3-1 (7-1 3A WSL).

FOOTBALL

EAGLE FORFEITS GLENWOOD GAME DUE TO INJURIES

Due to a high number of injuries on the varsity roster, the Eagle Valley Devils’ football team made the tough decision Monday afternoon to forfeit Friday night’s game against the Glenwood Spring Demons.

The Devils announced the decision on their athletic twitter feed and the football Facebook page, which means that Glenwood’s season has come to an unfortunate end for all parties involved.

Two weeks after having to forfeit games due to a self-reported eligibility issue, the Demons get a forfeit win in return, meaning they finish the season with a 2-8 record on the year.

According to Glenwood athletic director Craig Denney, the Demons looked to schedule an opponent to take the place of the Eagle Valley game, but circumstances within CHSAA’s bylaws made it tough for the Demons to find an opponent who had an open week and would be willing to play them.

Those issues force the Demons to accept the forfeit decision from the Devils, which will show up on the Demons’ schedule as a 2-0 win for Glenwood.

The game was scheduled for 7 p.m. in Gypsum at Eagle High School and would have been the final game of the year for either team.


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