D’Evelyn & Golden boys soccer teams pick up victories at Trailblazer Stadium

LAKEWOOD — A bit of an audible was called for boys soccer action Monday night.

The originally scheduled Class 4A Jeffco League doubleheader at the North Area Athletic Complex (HWY 93 and 64th Parkway) was moved to Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood. High winds during the day and with the possibility of power outages, the decision was made around noon to move the games to Trailblazer Stadium.

“I was so thankful to be here,” D’Evelyn coach Jason Arbuthnot said of playing at Trailblazer Stadium to avoid a possible postponement that could put teams playing back-to-back days during this final week of the regular season.

D’Evelyn took care of business against Standley Lake with a 5-2 victory in the first match. Golden won the nightcap to stay in the driver’s seat to claim the 4A Jeffco League title with a 3-0 victory over rival Wheat Ridge.

“It is so important,” Golden sophomore Bertel Ellegaard said of Golden attempting to win the league title for the first time since 2021. “We knew Wheat Ridge was going to be a tough game. We played really well tonight.”

It was the sixth straight game the Demons (9-2-3, 7-0-2 haven’t allowed a goal. Golden has a 5-0-1 record in its last six games with the only blemishing being a scoreless tie against Conifer.

A victory over Bear Creek in the 5 p.m. game Thursday, October. 23, at NAAC would clinch the conference title for Golden.

“Evergreen and Wheat Ridge, the last three years it has been a battle between the three of us,” Golden coach David Perez said of the race for the conference title. “It’s nice that we came out with the win tonight. We are looking forward to finishing out the regular-season Thursday night and seeing where our playoff run takes us.”

Actually, six of the past seven years the 4A Jeffco League title has been won by either Golden, Evergreen or Wheat Ridge. The Demons won back-to-back conference titles in 2018 and 2019, along with the 2021 crown.

Golden senior Dylan Ziegenfuss got the scoring going with a penalty kick goal in the 23rd minute for the Demons.

Ellegaard admitted he was battling leg cramps in the first half, but felt much better in the second half where he scored in the 42nd and 52nd minutes to extend the Demons’ lead to 3-0.

The win moved Golden up to No. 11 in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. The Demons should host a first-round playoff game next week with a top-16 seed and could very well be one of the hottest team in 4A heading into the 4A state tournament.

“If a league title falls in our lap, all the merrier,” Perez said.

Wheat Ridge (8-3-3, 5-2-2) was in position to challenge for the league title a week ago, but a tie to Evergreen and back-to-back losses to D’Evelyn and Golden has closed the door on the Farmers’ chance to win league.

The Farmers are still holding onto a top-16 seed for the 32-team 4A state bracket. Wheat Ridge was No. 15 after there loss.

D’Evelyn (10-3-1, 7-1-1) remained in the No. 13 spot in the seeding after its win against Standley Lake (5-7-3, 4-4-2). It was the last game of the season for the Gators who slipped to 37th in the seeding.

“I told the boys we don’t have control over anything else except the game we are playing,” D’Evelyn coach Jason Arbuthnot said. “We just have to do what we can.”

The Jaguars are on a 3-game winning streak heading into their league finale against Conifer, but would need Golden to lose against Bear Creek and Evergreen to tie or lose to Dakota Ridge on Thursday to allowed D’Evelyn to win its first boys soccer league title in nearly a decade.

“It is really important that we win out,” D’Evelyn junior Kai Burmeister said of the final regular-season game against Conifer coming up Thursday at Lakewood Memorial Field. “Winning is the most important thing right now.”

D’Evelyn grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute. Freshman Cole Stratton was able to get his foot on a loose ball after a Jaguars’ corner kick and put it past Standley Lake goalie Pablo Lujan.

Standley Lake answered late in the first half with the equalizer. Senior Semin Gazibara was able to get loose from D’Evelyn’s defense, rip a shot off the inside of the post that found the back of the net in the 36th minute.

However, the Jaguars were able to regain the lead minutes later. Burmeister headed in a corner by senior Anders Jacobson in the 38th minute to give D’Evelyn a 2-1 lead at halftime. The Gators answered again with a second goal by Gazibara in the 52nd minute to tie things up 2-2.

“I knew we could get it back,” Burmeister said of Standley Lake tying the game at 1-1 and 2-2. “I just kept the same mindset and kept pushing.”

Freshman Colton Schenk gave the Jaguars the lead again in the 59th minute. Burmeister scored a pair of goals in the final 8 minutes to make the final score 5-2. It was Burmeister’s second hat-trick of the season. The junior had three goals in the Jaguars’ win over Pomona.

“Today he had a really good game. Super proud of the kid,” Arbuthnot said of Burmeister. “He works really hard and is one of the best players on the field.”

Evergreen (9-3-1, 7-1-1) has worked hard to keep pace with Golden and D’Evelyn in the Cougars’ quest to repeat as league champs. The Cougars took care of their business Monday night with a 5-1 victory home over rival Conifer. Evergreen moved up to No. 10 in the seeding index.

The Cougars face Dakota Ridge on Thursday at Lakewood Memorial Field before a non-league game at Air Academy on Saturday, Oct. 25. A win over the Kadets (8-4-1) could push Evergreen’s seed even higher heading into the state seeding meeting Monday, Oct. 27.