Playing their third game in five days, Arvada West and Wheat Ridge boys’ soccer teams left the field Friday, Oct. 6, at the North Area Athletic Complex a bushed bunch.
“It was very dicey,” Wheat Ridge coach Jay Hamilton said after the Farmers escaped with a 2-1 victory. “We got a little fatigued. Our boys showed a lot of character squeezing that win out.”
Wheat Ridge took a 2-0 lead at halftime with goals from sophomore Paolo Del Piccolo in the 28th minute and senior Tim Johnson in the 33rd minute.
Del Piccolo’s goal came on a direct free kick from outside A-West’s goalie box. His shot deflexed off the Wildcats’ wall and past A-West junior keeper Zach Hallen for the first score of the game. The sophomore had a little extra incentive playing against his cousin, A-West sophomore Lio Del Piccolo.
“We play a lot together. We even play on a men’s league together right now. We are really close,” Paolo said. “It was just good to get a goal for our team. We are in a good spot in league right now.”
The win kept the Farmers (10-2, 5-2 in league) in second place in the tight Class 5A Jeffco League standings. With just a few conference games remaining for each team in the league, second and ninth is separated by just two losses. The top six teams in 5A Jeffco will qualify for the 32-team state tournament that begins Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Johnson doubled the Farmers’ lead late in the second half with some fancy footwork before putting a shot past Hallen. A-West quickly made it a one-goal game with a shot from senior Joel Thielen that floated over the head of Wheat Ridge freshman goalie Alex Merrill in the 42nd minute.
“I’m just really proud of our team,” Thielen said. “We tend to get down and have trouble scoring goals. We’re just glad to get one goal.”
The Wildcats (5-7, 3-4) dominated possession and scoring chances in the second half. A-West’s best shot at tying the game came in the 56th minute. A-West senior Dylan Van Buskirk was taken down in Wheat Ridge’s goal box by Farmer defender Taylor Hukari. A-West senior Tylor Randle took the ensuing penalty kick.
Randle fired the shot low toward the right post, but Merrill made a diving save to his left to keep the slim lead intact for Wheat Ridge.
“I kind of saw it the whole time,” Merrill said. “Just how he was set up. I knew he had to go that way.”
Lio Del Piccolo and Thielen both had shots on goal that were saved by Merrill later in the second half, but the freshman keeper’s stop in the penalty kick was clearly his biggest save of the game.
“It was huge,” Hamilton said. “I think it changed the momentum of the game back to our side.”
While Wheat Ridge seems a lock for the postseason, A-West knows it must get a victory over Pomona or Green Mountain to close out the season if there is any chance of making the playoffs.
“We know it’s going to be a struggle to get into the playoffs now,” Thielen said. “We are just going to give it all we have and try to end with a good season.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Arvada West tries to keep its playoff hopes alive when it faces rival Pomona at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, at the North Area Athletic Complex.