Evergreen and Wheat Ridge must settle with scoreless draw in boys soccer action

EVERGREEN — A scoreless draw between Wheat Ridge and Evergreen on Tuesday night cleared the path to the Class 4A Jeffco League title for two teams.

Wheat Ridge (8-1-3, 5-0-2 in league) still controls its own destiny to win a third conference crown over the past four seasons. However, the Farmers have the toughest remaining games facing D’Evelyn (8-3-1, 5-1-1) on Thursday night at Lakewood Memorial Field and then rival Golden (7-2-3, 5-0-2) on Monday, Oct. 20, at the North Area Athletic Complex.

“Last year we went 12 games unbeaten and then lost our last four and our season was done,” Wheat Ridge coach Lawrie O’Toole said of the tough ending to the season a year ago. “I think this year we are more down to Earth. We still have games we need to go win. Playoffs are great, but we really want to win that league title. The next two games are our main goal.”

Wheat Ridge lost to both D’Evelyn and Golden which allowed Evergreen to claim the league title last year.

Golden is actually the other team that controls its own destiny to claim the league title. If the Demons get victories over Green Mountain, Wheat Ridge and Bear Creek in their final three conference games, Golden will stake claim to its first boys soccer league title since the Demons won three over a four-year span from 2018 to 2021.

“The (4A) Jeffco League is really high quality this year,” Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said. “We feel like every team we’ve played is better than a year ago. We feel like we are better than we were a year ago.”

There was no question Tuesday night at Evergreen High School that the two goalkeepers were outstanding. Seniors Andrew Miller (Wheat Ridge) and Chris Kozel (Evergreen) didn’t allow a goal despite chances on both sides.

“It was a great game with two really great teams. They battled,” Jeans said. “Neither team could punch one in. There was some heroic defending and goaltending on both sides.”

The Farmers and Cougars had chances from close range with several players in the front of the net on a few occasions, but either defenders were able to clear the ball or goalies were able to make saves.

“Getting points in a game in this league at this point of the season is huge, but I thought at halftime that the chances we missed will come back and bite us,” O’Toole said. “That is what it did. We had chances. We just couldn’t put them away.”

Miller put his body on the line late in the game when he pushed a ball away despite colliding with an Evergreen forward in the goalie box.

“I think both keeper were great,” O’Toole said of Miller and Kozel in net. “Drew (Miller) has been fantastic. We’ve conceded three goals in 12 games now. The defenders in front of him have been just as good.”

Evergreen will need some help now to repeat as league champions, but Jeans isn’t worried about things out of the control of the Cougars as the postseason nears.

“The standings take care of themselves in the end,” said Jeans, who has guided Evergreen’s girls soccer program to back-to-back titles the last two spring seasons. “All we are concerned about it, ‘Are we getting better?’ The other games will take care of themselves.”

Evergreen closes out league play next week at home against rival Conifer (Monday, Oct. 20) and at Lakewood Memorial Field against Dakota Ridge (Thursday, Oct. 23). The Cougars do have a non-league game at Air Academy on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Soccer and girls volleyball matches Tuesday night at Evergreen High School kicked off homecoming week for the Cougars.

“It was awesome,” Jeans said of athletic games returning to Evergreen High School for the first time since the tragic school shooting on Sept. 10. “It’s a really good day for our school, this community and players to just be out here and doing what they love to do.”