Valor Christian girls soccer knew what it took to get to the state championship finals, having been there the last two seasons and losing both times to Wheat Ridge.
This year, only one goal gave the Eagles a chance for revenge.
Valor Christian defeated Wheat Ridge 1-0 May 25 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City for the 4A state championship in a rematch of the past two seasons. It was the Eagles’ first state title in program history.
After entering the 4A playoffs as the No. 2 seed, the Eagles reached the title game with a 5-0 win over Green Mountain. The Farmers were the No. 4 seed who beat No. 8 Palmer Ridge to make the finals.
Valor also defeated Wheat Ridge earlier in the season. Junior forward Meg Gegen said that earlier win might have helped with their confidence going into the state title rematch.
“We’ve always tried to bring our A-game since that championship game in 2009,” Gegen said. “The commitment and attitude of all the players has been a huge difference (from the 2009 team). We play as a team and are more unified. Our chemistry is way better than last time.”
Valor brought a lot of speed this year, which helped them build a 12-1-1 record coming into the playoffs. In the title game, with midfield support the Eagles were able to pull the ball back and move the Farmers defense around.
Almost 20 minutes into the first half, senior Madison Meyers was able to juke Farmers goalkeeper Hannah Van Wetter out of position so that all Meyers had to do was toe the ball forward into an empty net. Gegen was credited with an assist.
From then on, anywhere the ball landed, there were three Valor jerseys around it to one Wheat Ridge player. There was rarely a single Eagle out of position in the midfield.
The Farmers’ offense didn’t show up with much intensity until the last 10 minutes, but Eagles goalie Kailey Norman had the answer. She finished with seven saves to preserve the shutout.
Valor finished the season with a 17-1-1 overall record.